Restrictions could be implemented at facilities like Beaton Park to prevent secret recordings. Photo: Wollongong City Council.
Wearable recording devices like smart glasses could soon be banned from Wollongong’s public pools and council facilities with councillors calling for investigations into policies around the technology and whether specific restrictions should be implemented.
Wollongong could follow a nationwide trend of cracking down on wearable AI technology in public spaces, with concerns raised about how the technology could be impacting the privacy of patrons in areas such as swimming pools.
“People should be able to take their children to a public swimming pool without worrying that someone nearby may be discreetly recording them,” Wollongong Councillor Daniel Hayes said.
“This is not about stopping people from using technology. It is about recognising that wearable cameras are changing what is possible in public spaces and making sure our rules keep pace with that technology.”
A condition of entry to Wollongong Council’s leisure centres outlined on its website says that “you must not use cameras or filming equipment of any description within the facility”, however a separate webpage for swim schools states to “please consider other people when taking photos or videos in the pool area”, noting that the use of cameras and mobile phones is strictly prohibited in changerooms.
“People are often in situations where they have a reasonable expectation that they are not being secretly recorded by individuals for their own use,” he said.
“For example, parents should not have to wonder whether the person standing next to the pool is simply wearing a pair of glasses or is actually recording.”
Some residents online have noted that these types of glasses display a light when they are recording and that the same issue could be raised with smartphones.
Cr Hayes said the issue was raised with council staff in August who were reviewing council’s conditions of entry for facilities such as the aquatic centres, with the revised conditions undergoing legal review.
“We need rules that are practical, enforceable, and clear to the public and staff,” he said.
Now councillor Jess Whittaker is raising the issue in the council’s chamber, with a notice of motion to prepare a report within six months on “the privacy and child safety risks posed by emerging technologies such as smart glasses and other wearable devices capable of covertly recording video or audio without the consent of those being recorded”.
“It is pretty creepy seeing how popular these smart glasses are becoming while knowing how easily and covertly they can record others,” Cr Whittaker said.
“Most of the time the people will not know they are being recorded and they will not know what ends up happening with the recording.
“The council has a responsibility to make sure people feel safe in its public spaces. Receiving a report about what can be done about smart glasses in public spaces is a proactive step towards addressing the issue.”
If supported, the report is expected to:
- Investigate the practicality and enforceability of prohibiting the use of smart glasses and other covert recording technologies in council facilities
- Identify the relevant legal, privacy, child safety and operational considerations associated with introducing such restrictions, and if these restrictions already exist in some form relating to mobile phone recording devices
- Identify any potential unintended consequences of restricting these technologies, particularly for people with vision impairment or disability who may use smart glasses to assist them with their daily activities
- Provide recommendations on any measures council may need to take in response to this new technology, to maintain privacy and safety for council facility users.
The push comes following similar investigations and action in Queensland and Victoria, with Canterbury-Bankstown expected to be the first Sydney council to follow suit – allowing lifeguards and staff to order people to remove the glasses, confiscate devices or evict people who don’t comply.
The motion will be debated at the Wollongong Council meeting on Monday 21 September.
Original Article published by Keeli Dyson on Region Illawarra.
