Fanboys Anonymous

Google Glass is only a year old and has not even been released to the general consumer, yet some of its early users—who have paid $1,500 to be part of the Glass Explorer program—have already received some major backfire for wearing the new technology. For one Google Glass wearer, his Saturday night was cut short when he was yanked from a movie theater and interrogated under suspicion that he was recording the film.

Google Glass

Business Insider confirmed the story submitted by an anonymous writer  to The Gadgeteer earlier this week that had many people talking.

In Columbus, Ohio, on January 18, a man was pulled out of the 7:45 p.m. showing of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit at the AMC Theater at Easton Town Center. He was interrogated for two hours by Homeland Security agents and local authorities who believed he was recording the film via his Google Glass.

Google Glass is a wearable voice-activated Android device that features a thumbnail-sized transparent display over the right eye. It is capable of taking photographs and video as well as giving directions and performing many of the features of iPhone's Siri.

The unnamed man, who said he wore the glasses during the film because he had prescription lenses on it, had the device turned off while he was inside the theater.

The suspicion that the device was being used to record the movie prompted an investigation by the Motion Picture Association of America representatives who were on site and contacted the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees movie theft.

"About an hour into the movie, a guy comes near my seat, shoves a badge that had some sort of shield on it, yanks the Google Glass off my face and says 'follow me outside immediately,'" the anonymous man wrote to The Gadgeteer.

Authorities searched the man and questioned where he worked, who he worked for, why was he recording, where he got the device, and how much was he being paid to record the movie. He repeatedly told the agents that the Glass had a USB port and insisted that they connect it to a computer to prove that he was not recording the film.

Once authorities finally plugged the device into a computer, they found no evidence of recording. He was released after being detained for three and a half hours and received four free movie passes.

AMC gave this statement to Business Insider:

Movie theft is something we take very seriously, and our theater managers contact the Motion Picture Association of America anytime it's suspected that someone may be illegally recording content on screen. While we're huge fans of technology and innovation, wearing the device that has the capability to record video is not appropriate at the movie theatre. At AMC Easton 30 last weekend, a guest was questioned for possible movie theft after he was identified wearing a recording device during a film. The presence of this recording device prompted an investigation by the MPAA, which was on site. The MPAA then contacted Homeland Security, which oversees movie theft. The investigation determined the guest was not recording content.

The man, who chose to remain anonymous, said in an interview with a local Ohio newspaper, The Dispatch, that he realized "it's stupid to have a device with a camera pointed at the screen. But I didn't even think of it, because I don't use Google Glass to record other people."

This begs the question: How far can technology go before more stories like this pop up? Let us know what you think about this story in the comment section below.