Seattle Bar Preemptively Bans Google Glass
What’s the Latest Development?
Even though the highly-anticipated Google Glass isn’t scheduled for release until later this year, one business is already thinking about its customers’ privacy: Seattle’s 5 Point Cafe, located in the city’s downtown, last week announced that it would ban the device from its premises. When asked why, owner Dave Meinert said that he wants to preserve the privacy of his customers: “People want to go [to 5 Point] and be not known … and definitely don’t want to be secretly filmed or videotaped and immediately put on the Internet.” The bar already discourages customers from photographing and videotaping using more common devices.
What’s the Big Idea?
Seattle residents interviewed by Geekwire about the ban brought up some interesting privacy questions that are already being discussed in the industry. One person noted that there wasn’t much difference between the camera on a Google Glass device and the camera on a smartphone. Another person, in response to others’ comments about their innocent behavior (“I’m not doing anything wrong so filming me is okay”), said that the ability to spy on people in any form “has a chilling effect on freedom.”
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