Smart glasses are becoming more popular - how are schools planning to deal with them?

SMART GLASSES ARE becoming more popular than ever, but questions are growing around what impact the technology is having on people’s privacy – particularly when it comes to children. 

The latest AI-powered glasses created by Facebook’s parent company Meta in partnership with Ray-Ban are designed to look like ordinary glasses. But they are fitted with built-in microphones, speakers and cameras, with some even including a small display that you can see as you wear them. 

The glasses can capture images and video footage discreetly and hands-free, with a small LED light usually the only way for someone to tell that they are recording. 

The technology offers many benefits to those who are blind or visually impaired, for example, who are able to have the glasses read text or identify objects for them.

However, concerns have been raised about people being filmed without their consent. On social media, there are numerous videos of women being approached on the street by men wearing the glasses who record the encounter without their knowledge, with some people dubbing the technology “pervert glasses”. 

The conversation has now shifted to the safety concerns around children being filmed covertly, as well as their use of the glasses. 

Austria case

In Austria, the secretary of state for digitalisation has proposed banning them in “sensitive” areas such as schools. 

It comes after a student in Vienna was expelled from school after he repeatedly wore smart glasses to class over the course of a year and refused to take them off. But the student’s father appealed his expulsion to the Federal Administrative Court of Austria (BVwG), which ultimately overturned the decision. 

The court said the student suffers from an attention deficit disorder and had submitted a doctor’s certificate that stated that he needed to wear those specific glasses to school. He had been suspended four times before finally being expelled. 

“The glasses made both teachers and classmates feel uneasy about potentially being filmed or recorded at school,” it said. 

“Mere discomfort does not justify expulsion from school.”

The court found that the education authority which expelled the boy did so without establishing that there had been any incidents of misconduct, or that the student had actually made any recordings with the glasses. 

“While the court acknowledged that the student’s repeated refusal to remove the glasses during class had undermined confidence in his proper use of them, mere discomfort among teachers and classmates does not justify expulsion,” the BVwG said. 

The European Union (EU) currently has no common ban or regulation on smart glasses in schools for the bloc. 

Identifiable images and voices can be personal data: recording, analysing and sharing them can fall under the EU’s famous GDPR data protection regulation. But despite GDPR, there is currently no legal basis for banning the devices outright. 

Earlier this month, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a statement on smart glasses, warning that they raise “serious privacy concerns, as individuals may be recorded without their knowledge”. 

The watchdog warned of greater risks in “sensitive” spaces like schools and hospitals as well as public spots like beaches, and raised concerns over children who are “more vulnerable to covert or intrusive processing of their personal data”.

It said the glasses should make their recordings obvious, through using LED lights, audio signals or voice activation cues, smartphone notifications or unique designs, adding that the warnings “need to be reliable, hard to ignore, and always up to date”. 

Ireland, and abroad

The Journal asked the Department of Education if it has a policy on smart glasses in schools and if it is aware of any issues that have arisen due to their use by pupils or staff.

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In a statement, a spokesperson said that online safety and ethical digital use are central to its Digital Strategy for Schools. 

They said that all schools are required to have an acceptable use policy (AUP) when it comes to digital technology. This guidance states that schools “will need to discuss and agree how they intend to implement and use new and old technologies”. 

“Students using their own technology in school should follow the rules set out in this agreement ‘the AUP’. They will only use personal devices (smartphone, tablet, smartwatch etc.) in school under the direction and/or supervision of a teacher if they have permission,” the spokesperson said. 

“The department will continue to reinforce guidance and keep arrangements under review in light of evolving AI risks.”

The Journal also asked the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) if teachers were encountering students wearing smart glasses in school and what action was being taken as a result.

“We are not aware of this issue arising in schools at this time,” a spokesperson said. 

“All schools are required to have in place policies regarding acceptable use of technology by students. These policies are designed to protect the privacy and safety rights of all members of the school community including students and teachers.”

A spokesperson for the Teachers Union of Ireland told The Journal that while they have not had any queries in relation to smart glasses, “we would of course have serious concerns about the usage of any recording devices in classroom settings”. 

“Clearly, any developing technology that can potentially be used to bully or harass members of the school community is of serious concern and requires national guidelines,” they said. 

Elsewhere in Europe, other countries are grappling with how to deal with the new phenomenon.

In Spain, using smart glasses to record people at school is regulated by data protection laws and the right to privacy and image protection. There is no specific general ban on the glasses so far, but schools can limit their use.

Italy also has no specific nationwide legislation banning smart glasses in classrooms. Their use is governed by existing privacy legislation and the rules adopted by individual schools.

According to the Italian Data Protection Authority, schools are responsible for regulating the use of electronic devices on the premises. While students are allowed to record lessons for study purposes, these recordings can’t be shared or published. 

Greece also has no specific national regulation devoted to smart glasses, but the devices are covered by the Ministry of Education’s rules on electronic devices in schools.

Under the current restrictions, students there are not allowed to have mobile phones or “any other electronic device” equipped with image- and sound-processing functions on school premises, including outdoor school areas.

In September, a maths lecturer at the University of Patras banned glasses during an exam unless students provided a medical certificate confirming a vision-related need. The measure was reportedly intended to prevent the use of smart glasses for cheating, but it was withdrawn after students complained. 

France has banned the use of electronic devices in all schools. A recent report by France 3 found that fraud at this year’s baccalauréat – the French equivalent of the leaving cert – had risen by 30%.

There were 1,208 suspected cases nationally, with exam supervisors flagging smart glasses as a growing blind spot. 

This article is part of PULSE, a European collaborative journalism project.

By Jane More (The Journal), with reporting from György Folk (EUrologus), Lola García-Ajofrín (El Confidencial, Spain), Efsyn-Kostas Zafeiropoulos (Greece), Gian-Paolo Accardo (Voxeurop, France) and Silvia Martelli (Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy), Muzayen Al-Youssef and Anna Wiesinger (Der Standard, Austria)