When some of the details started to come out about Google Glass, many people began to wonder about some of the privacy concerns with the new product. Many people thought that businesses and government agencies would ban the product in the future. As it turns out, some businesses already have banned Google Glass, and we are starting to see privacy concerns surface sooner than expected. We also have seen some anti-Glass legislation introduced.
The big problem with Google Glass is that anyone wearing it can take pictures, video and audio of whatever the wearer looks at. This means that images can be taken anywhere without the subjects knowing about it. One big concern for privacy advocates is that people with Glass can take pictures of others’ children.
According to CNET, their tech pundit recently caused more increases of concern about privacy when he Tweeted about using Google Glass in the restroom and no one protested. Of course, we probably don’t have to worry about that particular pundit snapping pictures of things he shouldn’t be. The problem is when Google Glass goes main stream and we have hundreds of thousands of people walking around with the technology and entering restrooms.
Some say that people with Glass should just remove them from their eyes when they are in a public place such as a restroom. This probably will not be enough to appease some people. It is very likely that many parents are going to be concerned if Google Glass is anywhere near a restroom where their children are.
Many parents also are probably going to protest if they think that people wearing Google Glass are taking pictures of their children in any public place. What could happen is that many businesses and public places are going to ban the product outright. Think about places such as amusement parks and Chuck E. Cheese.
We’ll see what happens, but for now, we definitely think that as Google Glass gets more widespread, there will be serious privacy concerns.