Australia’s privacy regulator launched an investigation into the China-based company responsible for the HeyCyan app within Kmart’s Anko-branded discount version of Meta’s smartglasses. The regulator opened this inquiry into the software company behind the HeyCyan app, which was featured in Kmart’s $89 smartglasses. Kmart sold out of the Anko-branded discount version of Meta’s smartglasses during August. Furthermore, a GetUp petition gathered over 55,000 signatures calling for restrictions on smartglasses use.
The Australian privacy commissioner, Carly Kind, wrote to Kmart, BDI Technology, Shenzhen Qingcheng, Meta, and Google concerning the smartglasses. Kind announced an investigation into Shenzhen Qingcheng because the company failed to reply to inquiries. Kind stated that only Shenzhen Qingcheng will be investigated as part of this process. Regarding legal scope, Kind asserted that the privacy act applies only to Commonwealth agencies and companies, not to individual persons. She also claimed that the entity supplying the software used in the device is likely the one that collects and keeps the information for privacy law purposes.
Looking ahead, the government’s proposed amendments to the privacy act would strengthen how privacy law governs surveillance wearables like smartglasses. Kind noted that the 'reasonably necessary for an entity’s functions and activities' test would be replaced by a 'fair and reasonable' test. This new standard, according to Kind, would require an entity to weigh factors such as the individual's genuine choice when gathering personal data and the best interests of the child. Researchers at the University of Sydney analysed 350 publicly available Instagram videos shot on smartglasses between 2023 and 2026. These analyses revealed that approximately 60% of interactions within a subset of the videos could be classified as potential harassment. Several local councils have already banned smartglasses in certain venues; Canterbury-Bankstown and Sydney City are Sydney councils that enacted such bans. Additionally, Brisbane in Queensland and Yarra city council in Melbourne have also banned smartglasses from some venues.
