Television interview – Sunrise

Attorney-General’s portfolio Subjects: Smart Glasses. NAT BARR, HOST : It could be on the bus, on the way to work, at the supermarket, shopping with your kids, even at the beach as you jump in the water for a swim, you could be on camera at any time, thanks to the rise of AI smart glasses. But as those concerns grow, the Government is rejecting calls to ban what are being dubbed pervert glasses.

They say it's up to local councils and businesses to make their own rules here. For more, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland joins us live to explain. What's behind your decision not to ban the importation of these AI smart glasses?

MICHELLE ROWLAND, ATTORNEY-GENERAL : Well, firstly, as you're aware, yesterday the Government announced our next proposed tranche of privacy reforms, and whilst that draft legislation does not go to the issue of an import ban, we are seeking views from Australians about new technologies, including wearable information processing devices such as smart glasses, and the ways in which privacy can help protect people in this digital age.

So, whilst we haven't ruled anything out, this is very much a good faith consultation. We look forward to people's views, but also we need to balance that against the fact that Australians have always been early adopters. But we are very concerned about the rate and the propensity for which this can be misused by nefarious individuals. : Yes, so, you're leaving it up to, at the moment, local councils, businesses and shops to make their own rules?

How will that work? For instance, if David Jones decides to ban them, for example, does that mean they'll have to check everyone's glasses when they walk in? Well, what is encouraging is that we've seen some local councils decide well, what is the best and quickest way of ensuring that people who use our facilities are safe?

Because, as I said, the stats are stark. We've seen some 60% of point of view material that's been uploaded to the internet being potentially harassing. We want to make sure that children and other vulnerable Australians aren't targeted.

So, I commend local government, which has taken the steps in some of these areas to say that they are banned from their facilities. Businesses know that good privacy is good business. So, again, I will be engaging as part of this consultation process with business to determine what they can do as an immediate step to keep people safe in those environments. : Did you say 60% of the material from the glasses that is uploaded to the internet is dodgy? : This is part of a study that was undertaken by the University of Sydney which showed that in a sample of point of view material uploaded from smart glasses, some 60% could be classified as potential harassment.

Now, I'm engaging directly with those researchers as part of this consultation and I think it's very telling that those stats exist and the fact that people are genuinely concerned about them. But at the same time, Nat, there are very legitimate reasons for this. We've had Vision Australia and other disability advocacy groups saying that this type of technology has been a game changer for them.

We want to make sure we get the balance right and we don't unfairly discriminate against people who are using this technology to better participate in society. : Yeah, look, we're getting those messages too, saying, I'm visually impaired, these glasses have helped me enormously, and then we're getting other people saying, you know, they're an invasion of privacy.

We'll keep in touch and see where it lands. Thank you very much.