Will lawmakers ban Google Glass?

Google will soon start handing out its high-tech new glasses -- but did they see the backlash coming?

Tuesday evening the tech giant said it was notifying 8,000 beta testers in the Glass Explorer program. They’ll each receive a pair of the augmented reality glasses, high-tech eyewear that can snap photos, text friends and record video of everything the wearer sees. Expect to see Google Glass soon on faces at the coffee shop and local baseball game.

Most tech pundits see it as an important innovation that could even rival the mighty smartphone. Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor and Google Project Glass adviser, said it could create a lifestyle change. He envisions widespread consumer adoption.

"I believe products like Project Glass will give us more power and make us efficient and calmer," he told FoxNews.com. "It will help us weed out interruptions."

But as the Glass roll-out begins, privacy experts and lawmakers have begun wondering whether it's a cause for concern as well. In West Virginia, a new law -- aimed squarely at Project Glass -- could make it illegal to drive with the glasses. A Seattle bar forbade them on patrons. One activist group has even called for an outright ban.