Should municipalities ban smart glasses in pools and change rooms?
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municipalities → ban → pools
Privacy advocates say yes, but cities say existing rules are sufficient
Some city councils are banning smart glasses in public changerooms to prevent people from being covertly recorded, but 10 Canadian municipalities contacted by CBC News say existing rules are sufficient.
In Australia, local councils in Sydney, Brisbane and in the Melbourne area banned them from public pools and change rooms, with one mayor going so far as to call them “pervert glasses” in introducing the motion.
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mayor → say → motion
The glasses were also recently banned by a Toronto dance venue.
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glasses → ban → venue
Caitlin Stockwell, a lawyer running for municipal council in Vancouver, is calling for a similar ban there.
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Stockwell → run → ban
Stockwell noted it’s primarily women, children and gender diverse people who are being covertly recorded and harmed when the videos are posted online.
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videos → note → ?
In the U.K., there are also reports of people asking for money to take the videos down.
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people → be → videos
“We think if there are extra rules in place that can reduce the likelihood of these glasses being used in that way, that's something that our city hall and park board should be looking into,” Stockwell said.
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Stockwell → think → that
So far, the idea does not seem to be taking root across the country.
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idea → seem → country
CBC News reached out to 12 Canadian cities to find out if any were considering a ban.
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any → reach → ban
Ten responded by deadline.
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Ten → respond → deadline
Representatives all said existing rules that prohibit the use of recording devices within these facilities also apply to smart glasses.
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that → say → glasses
“The regulations already in effect across all of Montreal's aquatic facilities prohibit taking photos and recording videos inside the pool areas and locker rooms.
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regulations → prohibit → areas
These rules apply regardless of the type of device used,” a City of Montreal spokesperson said in an emailed statement that was typical of the responses CBC News received.
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News → apply → responses
The City of Ottawa’s policy is under review, according to Tracey McGarry, the city’s director of complexes, aquatics and special services.
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policy → accord → complexes
“Any updates would further clarify restrictions related to photography, video recording, audio recording, and livestreaming in recreation facilities.
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updates → clarify → facilities
We have had no issues with smart glasses in city recreation facilities.”
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We → have → facilities
But Stockwell says more proactive rules are needed because of the covert nature of the glasses.
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rules → say → glasses
“The issue that we're seeing that's unique with wearable recording tech is that it's actually really difficult to tell whether they're recording someone or not.
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they → see → someone
So, a more proactive rule in place to restrict the type of harm that they can be used for is to prohibit wearing those glasses in those spaces altogether.
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they → restrict → spaces
Smart glasses have a light that indicates when they’re recording, but it isn’t always obvious and some people have tampered with it, an issue engineers at Meta, one of the companies developing these glasses, are grappling with.
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engineers → have → glasses
The idea would be to have signage indicating smart glasses are not allowed in the facilities, Stockwell said.
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Stockwell → have → facilities
“Letting people know these glasses are banned, it … increases the likelihood that more people will catch it, as opposed to just the person that's targeted by the filming themselves and might see the video after the fact.”
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that → let → fact
Lloyd Richardson, director of technology at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in Winnipeg, says their organization is already seeing children targeted by covert recording.
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children → say → recording
This was the case before smart glasses, and it's not always clear what type of device was used to make the recordings, but the glasses make it easier to be inconspicuous, he says.
"
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he → use → recordings
We've seen what are obviously surreptitious recordings of children in bathrooms.
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what → see → bathrooms
We've seen it in daycares, we've seen it in pools.
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we → see → pools
"
Richardson says he agrees with a ban in municipal facilities, but believes it needs to go further.
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it → say → facilities
"I think we really need to like stand up to sort of sovereign law here and say ... you can't design a device like this.
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you → think → this
And ... you can't ship them into Canada."
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you → ship → Canada
Stockwell says there are change rooms in Vancouver where cellphones aren’t allowed, and she was once reminded by another patron to put her phone away.
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she → say → phone
The Sydney-area ban excludes people with impairments who use the glasses for accessibility reasons, and Stockwell says she envisions a Vancouver ban having the same exemptions.
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ban → exclude → exemptions
Policies
CBC News asked 12 municipalities whether they’re considering a ban on smart glasses in public facilities.
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they → ask → facilities
These responses have been edited for length and clarity.
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responses → edit → length
For any filming and photography in city parks, recreation facilities and recreation programming, an individual must not engage in filming and photography in washrooms and change rooms and obtain permission from staff prior to taking photographs or filming in active recreation spaces.
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individual → engage → spaces
We continue to review and evaluate our education and enforcement practices.
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We → continue → practices
Further refinements to our practices surrounding all filming tools, including smart glasses, will take place as we learn more.
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we → surround → more
The regulations already in effect across all of Montreal's aquatic facilities prohibit taking photos and recording videos inside the pool areas and locker rooms.
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regulations → prohibit → areas
These rules apply regardless of the type of device used.
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rules → apply → device
Additionally, in several of its new facilities, the city has set up universal (or gender-neutral) locker rooms where nudity is not allowed.
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nudity → set → rooms
The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation's pool guidelines state that the use of photographic devices, including cameras and cellphones, in fitness centres, swimming pools, and connected change spaces is not permitted without prior staff approval.
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use → state → approval
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
