Google Glass Faces Country-Wide Cinema Ban In UK

Did you buy Google Glass? If you did, and live in the UK, you'll have to shelve it should you want to visit the cinema. A newly placed ban on the heads-up wearable means that nearly 4,000 screens in 750 theatres across the UK won't take to your Glass-wearing ways. The ban comes days after Google released their wearable for users across the pond.

Enforced by the Cinema Exhibitors' Association in the UK, the ban is effective in all of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. CEO of the Cinema Exhibitor's Association, Phil Clapp, said the ban was in response to piracy concerns. Speaking to Mashable, Google is asking Glass users to respect the ban, but is wary of the current policy:

We encourage any cinemas concerned about Glass to treat the device as they treat similar devices like mobile phones: simply ask wearers to turn it off before the film starts. Broadly speaking, we also think it's best to have direct and first-hand experience with Glass before creating policies around it. The fact that Glass is worn above the eyes and the screen lights up whenever it's activated makes it a fairly lousy device for recording things secretly.

This makes no provisions for prescription Glass users, sadly. It also doesn't take into account that Glass is fairly incapable of recording an entire movie on its own. The ban is the largest known, following the footsteps of various privately owned bars and restaurants here in the US.

Source: Mashable