Google Glass to be banned from all UK cinemas

For recent Google Glass owners, a word of caution is in place: Cinemas across the UK have decided to ban these devices. This decision has been influenced by the fear of piracy, specifically related to illegal copying of new movies straight from the big screen.

After two years since its US release, Google made a prototype of its innovative eyewear available in the UK. Priced at £1,000 for “Explorers”, Google Glasses allow users to read emails, record videos and navigate the internet through a display fixed above the right eye.

The potential of Google Glass to record private events without consent, initiated simply by a finger swipe across the frame or a voice command, has ignited privacy issues. Cinemas are apprehensive about the potential misuse of Google Glasses to pirate movies, due to the fact that a significant portion of film piracy is carried out inside movie theatres.

The CEO of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association, Phil Clapp, stated that viewers will be asked to remove Google Glasses in cinema auditoriums, irrespective of whether a movie is currently being shown.

Vue cinema chain also implemented a similar policy, requesting spectators to remove their Google Glasses as soon as the auditorium lights go down. Even though the device signals its use with a light, some visitors have already been asked to remove their glasses by cinema staff who couldn’t confirm if they were recording.

The battery life of Google Glass for continuous recording is around 45 minutes, which makes it unlikely to record an entire movie. However, criminal organizations have proven adept at combining video footage from different theatres to create pirated DVDs for sale or upload.

Cinema staff are now equipped with training to identify potential piracy activities. Pirates often sit strategically, hidden among regular viewers and even using small children as a cover for their illegal actions.

Other entertainment venues are reviewing their approach to Google Glass, keeping in mind the potential impact on performers, the production team, and their audiences.

Hospitals may also request visitors to put away Google Glass to maintain patient privacy. The Transport Department has contacted Google to discuss the possibility of legal usage of the device by drivers, potentially by implementing a limit to the information display during drives.

To address privacy issues, Google has released an etiquette guide for its wearers to prevent them from becoming “glassholes”. The guide recommends, that in places where phone use is restricted, the same restrictions apply to Google Glasses.

A Google representative has suggested cinemas to engage with Google Glass as they do with mobile phones: by requesting users to switch off the device before the movie starts, and by getting to know the device personally before imposing policies.

Two years after its original launch, Google Glass was released in the UK with a sales forecast of one million £1,000 devices by year-end. But questions about sales stagnation continue, and official user statistics and exact figures are awaited from Google.

source: theindependent.co.uk

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