Remember the date – RE blog post on Australian Public Servant banned for wearing Google Glass

Just in case anyone overreacted to my blog post this morning about an Australian public servant being banned from their department’s offices for wearing Google Glass, I’d like to remind you of today’s date.

April 1.

Note that while the event I detailed isn’t real, it’s not that far off from reality.

There are at least 8 Google Glass in Australia. There’s a number of other personal recording devices already available on the market, such as the pen cameras already under trial use by Victorian Police (and reportedly already the subject of an internal memo banning staff from filming internal meetings).

Will we see wearing Google Glass banned within government offices, and what will happen when (not if) an MP wears a pair into Parliament?

There is a need for agencies to ensure that their policies around privacy and security are sufficiently robust to handle any type of recording device – regardless of form – and to support the legitimate use of technologies such as Google Glass for the benefit of citizens and agencies.

And given the fast spread of these technologies, these reviews need to happen sooner, not later.