A man who was wearing a Google Glass device during a showing of “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” last Saturday at an AMC Theatres location in Columbus, Ohio, was questioned by agents from the Dept. of Homeland Security — to see if he was illegally recording the pic.
An AMC rep confirmed the incident, which was reported by The Gadgeteer blog. In a statement, the theater chain said, “While we’re huge fans of technology and innovation, wearing a device that has the capability to record video is not appropriate at the movie theater.”
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Theaters have policies that prohibit recording devices, to thwart piracy. Last year, an exec for the National Assn. of Theatre Owners suggested that movie theaters would develop policies specifically to address Google Glass wearable computing gadgets.
The incident occurred at the AMC Easton Town Center 30 cineplex in Columbus on Jan. 18. After the theater manager identified that the patron was wearing Google Glass, a rep from the MPAA — who was on site — investigated the claim and then contacted the Dept. of Homeland Security, which oversees movie theft.
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The investigation determined that “the guest was not recording content,” according to AMC. The moviegoer was questioned for about 3.5 hours, according to an account from the man posted by the Gadgeteer.
The Dept. of Homeland Security said agents “briefly interviewed” the man, who has not been identified. After DHS confirmed the recording function on the individual’s Google Glass device — which had prescription lenses — was disabled, no further action was taken, the agency said.
