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Google Glass Resurfaces as a Workplace Tool, but Privacy Complications May Remain

August 8, 2017Media Mention
Bloomberg

Alphabet Inc.’s Google Glass wearable internet interface and data collection tool debuted in 2013 to much fanfare. Early adopters donned the hands-free eyewear to get directions, take pictures and video, place phone calls, and browse the web.  Google Glass quickly drew the ire of legislatures, advocates, and the public due to privacy and safety issues. Google stopped selling the Google Glass Explorer Edition in early 2015.

But a new version of the interactive wearable is now being marketed to businesses and manufactures to help aid workers. Google Glass Enterprise Edition will provide workers with hands-free access to training videos and quality assurance checklists, according to Google. The device will also help employees connect with coworkers and gain valuable assistance without leaving their work-stations, Google said.

The new version of the Google Glass, however, may still raise privacy issues that crippled earlier editions of the hands-free wearables. The product’s camera functionality still provides for the ability “to record individuals surreptitiously,” although a green LED light indicates when the device is recording, Timothy J. Toohey, partner at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP in Los Angeles and head of the firm’s cybersecurity practice, told Bloomberg BNA.