Politicians push smart glasses bans in Swiss public pools

Politicians in several Swiss cities are calling for smart glasses to be banned in public pools over concerns about covert recordings, SRF reports. A proposal before the city parliament in Wil, St Gallen, seeks to prohibit the devices in the city’s public pools, and parliamentarians from all parties have co-signed it.

Smart glasses look like ordinary sunglasses but can take photos, record videos and, in some models, record conversations. Depending on the model, the data can be transferred directly to a smartphone or a cloud service.

Supporters of restrictions say it is often difficult to tell whether someone wearing the glasses is filming or taking photographs, especially in outdoor pools. They say this could be particularly problematic for women, teenagers and children.

Meret Grob, a 31-year-old Green member of the Wil city parliament and one of the proposal’s initial signatories, said awareness of the possible risks had not kept pace with technological development. “I believe people have not yet really understood that smart glasses can also be used for negative purposes,” she told SRF.

Similar efforts are under way in Lucerne and Basel. Lucerne cantonal councillor Rahel Estermann said society needed to consider whether it wanted such glasses at all.

No cases of swimmers being secretly filmed with smart glasses are currently known in Switzerland. In Germany, however, several cases have made headlines after recordings of women in swimwear were shared on social networks. Cities including Cologne responded by banning smart glasses in public pools.

The Swiss Lifeguard Association supports a nationwide ban. Its president, Michel Kunz, said such a ban would be difficult to monitor completely but could have a preventive effect and provide a basis for action when violations were detected.

A petition using the slogan “Not a toy for stalkers” is calling for the sale of smart glasses to be banned in Switzerland. It collected more than 10,000 signatures within two days. The petition’s authors say the glasses could encourage voyeurism involving not only women but also children, including in swimming pools and changing rooms.

The issue has also reached federal politics, where there are calls for the effects of smart glasses on data protection and privacy to be examined more closely. Whether Wil will introduce a ban remains undecided, but supporters say the debate over privacy in public spaces is likely to grow as the devices become more widespread.