Norway to seek temporary, location based restrictions on AI glasses as parliament debate begins

Norway’s government has signalled it will ask the Storting, the national parliament, to approve a temporary, location based restriction on AI enabled “smart” glasses and related body worn devices. Announced by the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Administration, the measure is intended as an urgent, short term response to growing privacy and child protection concerns while an expert panel prepares recommendations for permanent national regulation.

What the government wants

Under the plan, using AI equipped glasses that can photograph, film or record audio would be illegal in a list of designated places where the public rightly expects privacy or safety. The government’s published examples include parks, bathing beaches, museums, shopping centres and public events, together with locations and activities involving children such as schools, kindergartens, playgrounds and youth clubs. Health facilities and fitness centres with locker rooms and showers are explicitly highlighted as places where the risk of intrusive recording is particularly acute.

The announcement makes clear the measure is conceived as temporary rather than an all out ban. Officials said targeted exemptions would be available to allow necessary uses, including for vulnerable groups and specific socially valuable purposes. The government also said it will set up an independent expert group to advise on durable, technology neutral rules for body worn devices that combine cameras, microphones and artificial intelligence.

Why Oslo is moving now

Ministry officials said technological developments have lowered the threshold for recording bystanders without consent, and the combination of cameras, audio capture and on device artificial intelligence raises new privacy, child protection and reputational risks. The government highlighted concerns about the potential for footage to be stored or accessed by third parties and used to train machine learning models, and about biometric remote identification features such as facial recognition.

That combination, ministers said, could change what it feels like to move around public life and risk chilling behaviour in schools, health settings and other sensitive environments. The temporary restriction is meant to buy time for a careful legal and technical review rather than to become a first final position on this class of devices.

How this fits international moves

Norway is not acting in isolation. Regulators and courts in several jurisdictions have already limited the use of camera equipped wearables in sensitive locations. European data protection authorities recently issued guidance on smart glasses and wearable cameras, emphasising data protection risks. Some courts and public institutions in other countries have banned or restricted recording capable eyewear at courtrooms and secure sites, and lawmakers in several states and regions have proposed device or use restrictions.

Norway’s approach combines an immediate, limited ban on use in specific places with a promise of a broader, evidence based regulatory framework. That two track approach is designed to be fast to implement for high risk settings while avoiding overly broad definitions that could sweep in helpful assistive technologies.

Implications for industry and users

The government said it will examine whether the temporary measure should be narrowly targeted at glasses that combine cameras and AI features, or broader and include any camera or audio equipped body worn technology. That definitional choice has big consequences for manufacturers, service providers and users. A narrow rule would leave many assistive and accessibility uses intact, while a wide definition could affect commonly used devices including some smartwatches and eyewear with basic photo features.

Manufacturers could face new compliance obligations and product design constraints in Norway, at least in certain spaces. The government also flagged the possibility of carve outs to preserve essential services for vulnerable people and to enable limited professional uses that are important for public safety and the delivery of social services.

Next steps and timeline

The government said it will return to the Storting with a legislative proposal as soon as possible. In parallel it will appoint the expert group to conduct a broader review and produce recommendations for permanent rules. The announcement described the temporary restriction as a stop gap to be followed by a more considered, technology neutral approach meant to stand the test of time.

Lawmakers, civil society groups and industry stakeholders are expected to push for clarity on the device definition, the scope of permitted exceptions and how enforcement will work in practice. If approved, the temporary measure would likely be accompanied by guidance for public bodies and businesses to help implement the rules without unintended disruption to accessibility and essential services.

Why it matters

The proposal places Norway among the earliest national governments to move from guidance and advisory statements to concrete legislative action on camera enabled wearable technology. Its twin focus on fast protective action in sensitive locations and on a durable regulatory framework recognises both the social value of some wearable technologies and the risks they create when combined with powerful AI capabilities. How Norway defines the covered devices, crafts exemptions and enforces the rules will be closely watched by other European regulators wrestling with the same trade offs.