Should Associations Ban Google Glass in Common Areas?

6 responses to “Should Associations Ban Google Glass in Common Areas?”

1. Loura: Thanks to you and Steve Marcus for raising the issue. I think the larger context is the role of technology at Board and Committee Meetings, i.e. Should videos of Board Meetings be permitted? Should there be a requirement that all Mobile Phones be turned off or put on “Airplane Mode”? Should there be a Privacy Policy that extends more generally to any activity in the common area that involves association matters? To make matters more vexing: Will any limitations on the use of technology adversely impact residents with disabilities. I vote for you and Steve to help us get “correct” on these matters!
2. In door area bans make some sense, outdoor areas do not. If someone wants to make these videos or photographs, there are many ways to do so without Google Glass.

   Let us not make proactive rules that could end up in a lot of litigation, headache and trouble. Let us see if local government adopts rules and regs that will cover this subject.

   Making rules such as this give credibility to those that call HOA Boards Nazis.

   I am a HOA Board member.

3. As a practical matter, how would such a rule be enforced? Are these glasses easily detectable? Would there actually be people who would notice them and report them? Privacy concerns are always an issue. While the Constitution contains no provision guaranteeing privacy, there are provisions that prohibit public intrusion into private affairs. Accordingly, my opinion is that any recording of anyone, made without that person’s expressed permission, should not be legal. Nonetheless, laws do not guarantee that the behavior will not occur, and therein lies the problem. I know nothing about these glasses, and maybe Adam can enlighten us, but this seems like dangerous technology to me. Of course, there are already devices that record without being detected. We see then on TV all the time. But the ramifications in our society are boggling, as abuses are endless. Any meeting of any board or organization is subject, and while the “official minutes” are supposed to be the ultimate record of what transpired and what actions were taken, the chance of recording an off-the-cuff remark and using it exists. People cannot simply be expected to control themselves at all times, especially in heated discussions. And what about schools? Any remark, made by a teacher, could be subject to misuse, especially if taken out of context. And the possibility of abuse in the workplace is rampant. I suppose the day is coming when all activity, public or private, will be subject to live broadcast over the Internet, without the knowledge of the participants, and, while the video may later be ordered taken down, we all know that, once something is “out there,” it’s in the public domain forever. Bells cannot be unrung. I am one who does not want to live in such a society. Already, we’ve had examples of how wrong this can be. Remember the case of the guy whose sexual encounter was recorded by his “buddies” and broadcast for all to see? The poor guy was basically shamed to death, and I can easily see this as the result of surrepticious recordings. Should legal sexual activities really be the subject of public viewing? Unfortunately, intrusion into all of our daily activities is not far off, especially in these days of the ramped-up effort by The New World Order to invade, pervade and control every aspect of our lives. Our electronic and telecommunicative activities are already subject to too-much oversight. Makes me glad I don’t have too-much time left on this planet at this time.
4. Let’s also remember that the sword has two edges. It’s trivially easy to secretly video / audio record a board meeting without Glass. Here’s a pen which can do it: http://bit.ly/1mhI6Fy. Same deal with the gym or locker-room and that shouldn’t be why Glass is banned. There are some positive reasons for using Glass. One such use is covenant enforcement. Imagine being able to look at a house as you drive by and Glass pulls up a picture of what the house looked like last inspection. See differences, nod your head, a pic gets taken, uploaded, and enforcement letters generated automatically. In the non HOA realm there was a story I read just the other day where an emergency room in Boston equipped the doctors with Glass. Before entering a room, the doctor would look at a QR code near the door and all the relevant patient information (vitals, medicines, treatment plans, etc) was called up into their field of view. They could then talk to the patient / treat them without having to break eye-contact or go over to the computer to lookup relevant information.
5. The glasses are easy to spot if one is aware of them and what they look like. Each pair has a small “glass” screen in the upper right corner of the frame. The screen is about ½” x 1”. As with any rule, enforcement is the key. Like prohibiting video and/or audio taping of meetings, the owner would be asked to leave if they are doing so and it is known. If the owner fails to do so, the meeting would be adjourned and reconvened at a later date and time. The ultimate enforcement would be a court order prohibiting the owner from attending the meeting wearing Google Glasses.
6. My understanding is that while the devices are somewhat easy to identify, there is no way to tell if they are recording. The glasses may also be used by the wearer as normal eye glasses are, so banning them altogether would prevent the wearer from seeing clearly. There already seems to be plenty of other ways to secretly record. So I like the advice to not rush into making new rules and wait and see how various governments handle it. No need for HOAs to be in the forefront in legislating them.