MPAA: Don't Wear 'Wearables' in Theaters

In their ongoing fight against movie piracy, Hollywood studios are nixing the uses of wearable recording devices—like Google Glass—in theaters.

In an update to its anti-theft policy (reported in The Hill), the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theater Owners this week agreed that the use of wearable technology is a no-no during the showing of movies.

While they said they have a "long history of welcoming technological advances," and understand the consumer interest in smart phones and intelligent devices, they signaled it was time to "fully integrate wearable tech" into those rules.

The move follows a joint meeting of NATO and MPAA at ShowEast in Hollywood, Fla.

"All phones must be silenced and other recording devices, including wearable devices, must be turned off and put away at show time," said MPAA. "Individuals who fail or refuse to put the recording devices away may be asked to leave."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.