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Movie Theaters Introduce Blanket Ban On Google Glass

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The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) have announced a zero-tolerance policy for Google Glass and other wearable devices.

In an update to their rules, agreed at the ShowEast industry convention and trade show in Hollywood, Florida, the two groups say they "have a long history of welcoming technological advances and recognize the strong consumer interest in smart phones and wearable 'intelligent' devices".

They welcome technological advances, that is, as long as they're not actually used or even visible. No longer will it be good enough to turn wearables off: they will have to be stowed right away for the duration of the movie.

"Individuals who fail or refuse to put the recording devices away may be asked to leave," the organizations explain in a statement. "If theater managers have indications that illegal recording activity is taking place, they will alert law enforcement authorities when appropriate, who will determine what further action should be taken."

Photo credit: Wikipedia

And there's an incentive for theater staff to be vigilant, in the form of a $500 bounty for catching someone recording illegally.

The new rules apply to NATO members from tiny independent movie theaters to the big chains, between them operating around 32,000 screens in the US alone - plus many more in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Many movie theater owners already have anti-Glass policies in place. This summer, the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater chain announced that the headsets were banned from its auditoriums once the trailers have started.

And there's been at least one case of an anti-Glass policy being put into practice: in January, an Ohio man was thrown out of an AMC theater and was even questioned by the Department of Homeland Security after claims that he'd "been caught illegally taping the movie" (he hadn't).

There's no exception in the new rules for anyone wearing prescription lenses in their Google Glass - a possible discrimination lawsuit in the making?

And it's also pretty obvious that nobody in their right mind would attempt to pirate a movie using a device with a one-hour battery life when filming, with mediocre video quality and which requires them to keep their head absolutely motionless throughout. Presumably, the two organizations believe that the technology will improve in future to make all this a more feasible prospect.

The new policy's quite a turnaround for the MPAA, which earlier this year released a statement saying  “Google Glass is an incredible innovation in the mobile sphere, and we have seen no proof that it is currently a significant threat that could result in content theft.” Has it seen that proof now? Can we?