At any café in Oslo, a fellow patron wearing sleek frames could be silently identifying faces at the next table — logging presence, running features against a database — and no one would know. That specific discomfort is exactly what Norway’s government moved to address on August 25, 2026, when Digitalisation Minister Karianne Tung announced plans to tighten rules on camera-enabled wearables. This isn’t Scandinavian technophobia. It’s a direct question about who controls what gets built into the device sitting on someone’s face. What Norway Is Actually Proposing A targeted strike at specific AI features — not a blanket ban on smart glasses. Most legislation chases technology. Norway is trying to outrun it. Tung’s announcement doesn’t touch the core gadget appeal of products like Meta Ray-Bans or Snap Spectacles — it targets the surveillance capabilities underneath. “We can see that people’s private lives and privacy are coming under pressure from new technology, and I therefore want to regulate smart glasses and similar devices more strictly than today,” Tung said, according to a Norwegian government statement carried by RTE News. What’s on the table: - A potential ban on facial recognition in consumer wearables used in public spaces - An expert advisory group being established to recommend specific regulatory options - The Norwegian Consumer Council urging retailers to pause sales pending legal clarity - Both public and private sectors have been asked to review their own smart glasses guidelines Critically, the move is precautionary — Meta hasn’t officially activated facial recognition on its glasses yet, and Norway isn’t waiting. Tung has also flagged something worth sitting with: this isn’t only about glasses. “A clear trend that artificial intelligence is being combined with cameras and microphones built into things like glasses, earbuds, caps, and other items we use in everyday life,” she