14 DAY TRIAL // It seems like there’s nothing that will stop the Motion Picture Association of America from trying to keep pirates away from movie theaters. However, its war on technology is getting out of hand.
Last week, a man was removed from a theater for wearing Google Glass, even if the device was turned off and the gadget actually had prescription lenses, which means he couldn’t see without them on.
The man’s glasses were grabbed off his face and he was asked to follow an agent outside. Once there, he found himself interrogated by several Homeland Security agents for over an hour.
While he admitted his mistake of not swapping his Google Glass for a pair of regular spectacles, it doesn’t justify the reaction the movie theater employees had towards him.
The debate on where one can wear and cannot wear Glass is still on, but it’s hard not to point out that smartphones can pretty much do the same stuff, albeit in a bit more obvious manner.
The MPAA is trying to play it nice and says that the Glass isn’t something to worry about. “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,” the MPAA said in a statement that seems to be an effort to fix the PR mess it is in, TorrentFreak reports.
On the other hand, however, its rules and guidelines remain the same. According to a list issued by the organization, movie thieves are very ingenious when it comes to concealing cameras. “It may be as simple as placing a coat or hat over the camera or as innovative as a specially designed concealment device (e.g., a small camera built into eyeglass frames or a camera built into the lid of a beverage container,” the file warns of a device that’s basically the same thing as Glass.