Oslo bans smart glasses in schools, citing Meta data collection
Rule ChangesNorwegian capital targets camera-equipped AI wearables as national regulators weigh stricter rules
Yesterday: Oslo publicly announces the school banNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Overview
Updated 31 minutes agoOslo banned smart glasses in its schools this week. The ban covers the entire school day at every grade level and took effect August 27, though the city only announced it September 10. The delay came from the political truce that followed King Harald V's death on August 28.
Oslo's education chief, Julie Remen Midtgarden, put the reasoning bluntly: children should not become "extras in Meta's data collection." The target is camera-equipped AI wearables like Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, which can film, record audio, and run Meta AI on whatever the wearer sees. The city is one piece of a wider Norwegian push to regulate the devices before they become widespread.
Why it matters
If Norway's push spreads, camera-equipped smart glasses could face restrictions across Europe, not just in classrooms.
Questions about this story
Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.
No questions yet — be the first to ask.
Key Indicators
Voices
Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.
Play
Exploring all sides of a story is often best achieved with Play.
WHO SAID WHAT?
Can you match the quotes to the right people?
- points for each correct match.
- time bonus when you answer in under seconds.
- streak bonus once you hit correct in a row.
— Who said this?
Tip: press 1– to answer.
points — sign up to put that on the leaderboard.
Higher or Lower
A number from this story, against one from elsewhere in the news — guess which is bigger, then keep the chain going. 5 rounds, 3 strikes; a miss costs a strike and resets your streak.
Keyboard: ↓/L lower · ↑/H higher
0 points — sign up to put that on the leaderboard.
Timeline
Order five events from this story, oldest at top. Each in the right slot scores 1 — neighbours within one slot count too. Your previous result — green ✓ for exact slots, yellow ~ for off by one. Cards now in true chronological order.
Sign up to save your score and track a streak across stories.
Connections
Sixteen names from the news. Find the four hidden groups of four. Four mistakes max.
Sign up to keep a daily streak — a new puzzle lands every day.
Exit debate?
Your progress in this debate will be lost.
- 1 Two AI personas square off on this story.
- 2 You predict who'll win each round — correct picks earn XP.
- 3 One crossfire question is yours to fire. Pick it carefully.
Couldn't generate a topic
Select Your Champions
Choose one persona for each side of the debate
DEBATE TOPIC
Choose personas with different perspectives for a more dynamic debate.
Select debater for this side:
No debate personas available right now.
Select debater for this side:
No debate personas available right now.
Who's Got This Round?
Make your prediction before the referee scores
The referee scores both sides on
Round Results
Set the Crossfire
Pick the question both personas must answer in the final round
Debate Oracle! You called every round!
Sharp Instincts! You know your debaters!
The Coin Flip Strategist! Perfectly balanced!
The Contrarian! Bold predictions!
Inverse Genius! Try betting the opposite next time!
XP Breakdown
Prediction History
People Involved
Organizations Involved
Norway's capital and largest city, which banned smart glasses in all its schools effective August 27, 2026.
Norway's independent privacy regulator, which formally asked the government to assess whether smart glasses need their own regulation.
Maker of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which carry cameras, microphones, and Meta AI that analyzes what the wearer sees.
Timeline
January 2024 September 2026
-
Oslo publicly announces the school ban
Latest Rule ChangeOslo confirms it banned smart glasses in schools, saying children should not be "extras in Meta's data collection."
-
Norway weighs camera-wearable restrictions
PolicyDigital minister Karianne Tung says the government is looking to regulate camera-enabled wearables from Meta and Snap.
-
King Harald V dies, delaying announcement
ContextNorway's King Harald V dies, triggering a political truce that postpones public announcement of the ban.
-
Oslo school ban takes effect
Rule ChangeOslo's smart glasses ban goes into force across all schools and education levels, covering the entire school day.
-
Education minister asks schools to ban AI glasses
PolicyKari Nessa Nordtun asks municipalities to prohibit AI-enabled glasses in local school rules, citing privacy and consent concerns.
-
Digitalisation minister plans stricter rules
PolicyKarianne Tung announces stricter smart glasses regulation, an expert group, and possible bans on facial recognition in public spaces.
-
Privacy regulator demands urgent assessment
RegulatoryDatatilsynet formally asks the government to assess whether smart glasses need specific regulation, proposing measures from school restrictions to sales limits.
-
Norwegian education directorate restricts phones and smartwatches
PolicyDirectorate recommends strict limits on private phones and smartwatches in schools, from primary through upper secondary.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Google Glass privacy backlash (2013–2014)
Google sold early versions of Glass, camera-equipped eyewear, to a limited "Explorer" program. Wearers were nicknamed "Glassholes" as bars, casinos, and gyms banned the device over surreptitious recording fears.
Google pulled Glass from the consumer market in January 2015 after the backlash.
The episode established that body-worn cameras raise privacy questions that venues and regulators answer with bans. Meta's Ray-Ban glasses face the same dynamic a decade later.
Meta's smart glasses trigger the same bystander-privacy concerns Google's did — and Norway's response mirrors the venue-level bans that helped kill consumer Glass.
France's school phone ban (2018)
France banned mobile phones in primary and middle schools, applying the restriction during classes and, for younger students, during breaks. The law covered roughly 7 million students.
Schools gained authority to confiscate phones, though enforcement varied widely by school.
France became a reference point for state-level tech restrictions in classrooms, and the debate spread across Europe.
Oslo's ban extends the same logic — restricting personal technology in schools to protect children — from phones to camera-equipped AI wearables.
Australia's under-16 social media ban (2024)
Australia passed a law barring children under 16 from most social media platforms, with fines for companies that fail to enforce age limits. It was one of the strictest national restrictions on children's technology use worldwide.
Platforms faced enforcement deadlines and age-verification requirements.
It gave other governments a template for restricting tech companies in the name of child protection, arguing that parental consent is not enough when platforms monetize children's attention and data.
Oslo's framing — that children should not be data subjects for Meta — echoes Australia's argument that children need structural protection from platforms, not just parental supervision.
