Theaters could try to ban smartwatches

A pair of influential US film industry organizations on Wednesday put out word that movie theaters should ban smart watches or eyewear that could be used to record movies. The Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theatre Owners updated a film-theft prevention policy to recommend zero-tolerance when it comes to movie goers wearing “intelligent” devices with video-recording capabilities. Best practices guidelines, which theater operators are free to embrace or ignore, were modified to say that “wearable devices” as well as smartphones must be “turned off and put away at show time.” The two associations did not specifically mention Google Glass or any other gadget in the policy update released after an anti-piracy joint task force meeting at an annual ShowEast gathering of theater owners in Florida. “Individuals who fail or refuse to put the recording devices away may be asked to leave,” the policy stated.