Norway Proposes Temporary AI Glasses Ban in Public Places

Norway’s government said on 5 October 2026 that it wants a temporary ban on AI glasses in selected public places, not a total ban, and will send a bill to the Storting as soon as it can. According to NTB and NRK, an expert group is to advise on permanent national rules. This publication read the Norwegian-language reports by NTB, as carried by HandelsWatch, and by NRK.

The ministry’s own press release was behind a bot check and was not read, so every claim here is attributed to those two reports, and this publication verified nothing independently.

What the Government Says

NTB says Digitalisation and Public Administration Minister Torgeir Micaelsen is worried that new, powerful technology is being introduced in which people risk being photographed, filmed or recorded without knowing it. In NTB’s account he says the government will therefore introduce a temporary ban on AI glasses at selected places. The quotation is this publication’s translation from the Norwegian.

NRK, which says it is quoting the government’s press release, reports that the government wants a temporary ban on AI glasses in public places such as schools, hospitals, shopping centres and parks. NRK quotes Micaelsen as saying, in this publication’s translation, “We do not want a society where people are worried about being surveilled.” NRK adds that it will not be a total ban on the technology.

Where the Ban Would Apply

NTB says the selected places are those where the public moves, places meant to protect children, and places where privacy is particularly important. It lists parks, bathing beaches, museums, shopping centres and amusement parks; playgrounds, schools, kindergartens, youth clubs and places and events for children; and health institutions and gyms with changing rooms and showers.

NTB adds that the government will consider whether the ban should also cover universities, university colleges and other educational institutions.

Exceptions and What Comes Next

NTB quotes the ministry as saying, in this publication’s translation, that it will open for exceptions so that vulnerable groups can be exempted and so that socially useful use is possible in limited cases. NTB says Micaelsen calls the work on a temporary ban a high priority and that the government will return to the Storting with a bill as quickly as possible.

According to NTB, the ban is meant to be temporary because the government will set up an expert group to advise on lasting national regulation of AI glasses. NTB says it was told that the work to set up the group has begun. NRK says the expert group is to examine a permanent national regulation in parallel with the temporary ban.

The Background NTB Reports

NTB says Micaelsen’s predecessor, Karianne Tung, wanted stricter rules but not a ban when she left the government in September. It says Education Minister Kari Nessa Nordtun has already asked all Norwegian municipalities to ban AI glasses in schools.

NTB also says several parties in the Storting have argued for a temporary ban. It says the Socialist Left Party has backed a sales stop until rules are in place and the Centre Party wants a ban on AI glasses around children. It adds that the Norwegian Data Protection Authority asked the Storting this summer to consider stopping sales until a regulatory framework exists.

The Structural Read

The proposal has two parts that NTB and NRK keep apart. The temporary ban is for selected places, with exceptions, and a bill to the Storting as soon as possible. The permanent rule is left to an expert group, whose set-up NTB says has begun.

NTB gives three reasons for choosing the places: where the public moves, where children are to be protected, and where privacy is especially important. The universities and colleges are the one item NTB describes as still to be considered.

NTB’s background places the proposal among earlier steps. It says the education minister has already asked municipalities to ban AI glasses in schools, that several parties have argued for a ban or a sales stop, and that the Data Protection Authority asked the Storting this summer to consider stopping sales. It also says Micaelsen’s predecessor wanted stricter rules but not a ban.

Three Implications

A DEVICE RULE, SCOPED BY PLACE In NTB’s account the proposal restricts one device, AI glasses, in listed kinds of place rather than restricting the technology everywhere, and NRK says it is not a total ban. The two reports do not define AI glasses, so what counts as one is not established.

A BRIDGE TO UNWRITTEN RULES NTB says the ban is temporary because the government is setting up an expert group to advise on lasting national regulation. The two reports give no timetable for the group or for the bill, so how long the bridge lasts is not stated.

WHAT REMAINS UNKNOWN No bill text, start date, penalties or enforcement arrangements appear in the two reports, and the exceptions are described only in the ministry’s general wording as NTB quotes it. This publication did not read the ministry’s press release.

What Is Not Established

The two reports this publication read give no bill text, no start date for a ban, no penalties or enforcement arrangements and no legal definition of AI glasses. They do not say who sits on the expert group, what its mandate is or when it reports, and they do not set out what the exceptions are beyond the ministry’s general wording.

This publication did not read the ministry’s press release, the Reuters report on the proposal or any bill text, and did not seek a response from the Norwegian government. The quotations are this publication’s translations from Norwegian.

The Bottom Line

As NTB and NRK report it, Norway wants a temporary, not total, ban on AI glasses in selected public places, with exceptions and a bill to the Storting as soon as possible. An expert group is to advise on permanent rules. This publication read those reports, not the press release, and verified nothing independently.