
‘We don’t want what’s happening in the US to happen here’: Australia’s smart glasses ban extends to even more public areas
Local government councils in Australia are expanding bans on smart glasses to include public pools, gyms, and libraries to prevent non-consensual recording. The City of Sydney has joined other major cities in enforcing these restrictions, citing privacy concerns and the need to protect individuals in sensitive areas. Additionally, Western Australian public schools will prohibit the use and storage of smart glasses on premises starting in October.
- ▪The City of Sydney has banned smart glasses in public pools, gyms, childcare centers, libraries, and town halls.
- ▪This local ban follows similar measures implemented by the City of Yarra, City of Brisbane, and Canterbury-Bankstown council.
- ▪Western Australian public schools will ban students, teachers, and contractors from wearing or storing smart glasses from October 12.
- ▪The federal government has already prohibited smart glasses in government-run workplaces, services centers, and laboratories.
- ▪Officials state that the bans are intended to prevent non-consensual recording and protect privacy in public spaces.
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| Original publisher | TechRadar |
| Canonical URL | https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/we-dont-want-whats-happening-in-the-us-to-happen-here-australias-smart-glasses-ban-extends-to-even-more-public-areas |
| Publication time | Tue, 22 Sep 2026 07:45:48 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-22T07:53:49.775Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-22T07:53:49.775Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | zamCWjyN48Bb · 1 stories |
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Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
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Computing Software Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality ‘We don’t want what’s happening in the US to happen here’: Australia’s smart glasses ban extends to even more public areas News By Nico Arboleda Published 22 September 2026 Amid calls for a countrywide ban When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Meta) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter City of Sydney has joined four other local Australian councils in banning the use of smart glasses in specific areasBanned in public pools, gyms, childcare centers, libraries and government buildingsSeparate ban…
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