Restaurant ejects diner who insisted on wearing Google Glass
A Seattle restaurant has joined a growing number of business establishments that already ban or are expected to ban Google Glass because of concerns about privacy, piracy and/or the loss of confidential material.
A Facebook post explains that the Lost Lake Cafe asked a “rude” patron who wouldn’t take off the high-tech headgear to leave, reports PC Magazine.
Although Google Glass looks like ordinary glasses to the uninitiated, it functions as an unobtrusive recording device that can live-stream video over the Internet. The Facebook post says restaurant patrons can’t photograph other customers without their permission. The owners say they banned Google Glass because it is difficult to tell whether the device is in use or not, according to Forbes.
“It’s about privacy,” says Jason Lajeunesse, a business partner of restaurant owner Dave Meinert. “It’s one thing to take out a camera and capture a moment, people see you doing it, they have a chance to step out if the want to. With Glass people don’t have a chance to do that. We want our customers to feel comfortable, not like they’re being watched.”
Meinert earlier banned Google Glass from a bar he owns, on similar grounds, as a previous PC Magazine article reported.
While his restaurants may be on the cutting edge of this issue, other businesses are also expected to take similar positions, reports the Telegraph. Banks, casinos, hospitals, sports venues, movie theaters and strip clubs are among those likely to object to Google Glass.
At least one driver has been ticketed (in California), for wearing Google Glass behind the wheel, as an earlier ABAJournal.com post noted.
Updated at 12:25 p.m. to include information from Forbes.
