Google Glass, a new “smart” device currently released to only a few selected testers, has already received some negative criticism. Google Glass works by projecting a virtual display into the users field of vision. It is also capable of taking pictures and recording video via a camera mounted within the frame of the device between both eyes. The latter being the cause of the events in the following article.
Over the weekend following January 18th, The United States Department of Homeland Security pulled a man from an AMC theater in Ohio. The man was suspected of using a pair of the new Google Glasses to pirate the recently released Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit film, which he had been watching. The man, (wishing to remain unnamed) stated:
“About an hour into the movie (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit), a guy comes near my seat, shoves a badge that had some sort of a shield on it, yanks the Google Glass off my face and says, ‘Follow me outside immediately,'” the man told The Gadgeteer. “It was quite embarrassing and outside of the theater there were about five to 10 cops and mall cops. Since I didn’t catch his name in the dark of the theater, I asked to see his badge again and I asked what was the problem and I asked for my Glass back. The response was ‘you see all these cops you know we are legit, we are with the ‘federal service’ and you have been caught illegally taping the movie.'”
The Managers at the AMC Easton 30 Theater in Columbus, Ohio contacted the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), as per policy when someone is suspected of movie piracy. In turn, the MPAA contacted the Department of Home Land Secruity, one of whose responsibilities is enforcing piracy. The anonymous man told the officials that he had turned the device off and continued to wear them because they also served as his normal prescription glasses (Side note: Prescription lenses for Google Glass are not available to the public, but they are planned to be later on.) The agents then plugged his Glass into a computer and found that he had not been attempting to pirate the film.
The MPAA released this statement, calling the Google Glass:
“An incredible innovation in the mobile sphere” and said it has “seen no proof that it is currently a significant threat that could result in content theft.
“The MPAA works closely with theaters all over the country to curb camcording and theater-originated piracy, and in this particular case, no such activity was discovered.”
The Department of Home Land Security released a statement as well:
“On Jan. 18, special agents with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and local authorities briefly interviewed a man suspected of using an electronic recording device to record a film at an AMC theater in Columbus. The man, who voluntarily answered questions, confirmed to authorities that the suspected recording device was also a pair of prescription eye glasses in which the recording function had been inactive. No further action was taken. ”
As for the man, as a form of consolation, he received four AMC Movie Passes. Google Glass presents an innovation that holds equal potential for the consumers’ benefit and detriment.
