Vienna minister considers school ban on smart glasses

Austria’s education minister is considering legislation that would let schools ban smart glasses after a court overturned the expulsion of a Vienna student who wore them in class, ORF reported.

The student repeatedly wore Meta smart glasses during lessons at a Vienna secondary school. The glasses have a camera and microphone and can take photos and videos, make phone calls and answer spoken questions through an AI assistant.

Classmates and teachers said they felt watched. The school added a ban on smart glasses to its rules, but the student continued wearing them. He was suspended from lessons four times between March and June before the Vienna Education Directorate expelled him at the school’s request.

The Federal Administrative Court overturned the expulsion on August 3, after provisionally allowing the student to return in July. The court said classmates’ discomfort was understandable, but authorities had not established serious misconduct, such as that the student had actually recorded anyone. The possibility that the glasses could record was not enough to justify expulsion, it said.

The Vienna Education Directorate has filed an extraordinary appeal. If the Supreme Administrative Court accepts it, the case will proceed there.

Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr said he was surprised by the ruling and opposed recording or listening to people without their consent. He said he would wait for the outcome of the legal proceedings, but was preparing a possible legislative change. The ministry is also examining a ban over concerns that smart glasses could be used to cheat in exams.