Accessibility

Accessibility should be protected

Smart glasses can offer genuine and important benefits for disabled people.

For blind and partially sighted people, wearable technology can help with tasks such as understanding their surroundings, accessing information and navigating everyday life more independently. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) already recommends assistive technology, including 'smart glasses', that are dedicated for those with little or no vision.

Source: https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/assistive-aids-and-technology/wearable-technology-smart-glasses-and-head-mounted-cameras/

The UK Government also recognises the importance of assistive technology in removing barriers for disabled people and helping people participate more fully and independently in everyday life. Government-backed research has supported the development of smart glasses specifically designed to improve independence and quality of life for people with sight loss.

Sources:

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-assistive-and-accessible-technology-atech
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assistive-technology-research-and-development-work-2021-to-2022/assistive-technology-research-and-development-work-2021-to-2022

Stop Smart Glasses supports the use of assistive technology by disabled people.

We are campaigning against the mass-market sale, promotion and normalisation of camera-equipped glasses as an everyday consumer product.

Assistive use is different from mass-market use

There is an important distinction between technology being used to overcome a disability-related barrier and millions of consumers being encouraged to wear cameras on their faces as part of everyday life.

UK government guidance already recognises a similar distinction in its approach to assistive technology and medical devices: the intended purpose of a product and the people it is designed to support can matter when determining how it should be treated.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assistive-technology-definition-and-safe-use/assistive-technology-definition-and-safe-use

Regulation and restrictions on camera-equipped smart glasses should therefore protect legitimate disability-related and assistive uses.

The precise legal and policy mechanism for achieving that needs to be developed with disabled people, accessibility organisations and relevant experts — not decided without them.

Accessibility and privacy should not be pitted against each other. We are more than capable of protecting both.