From Malay Mail · · 2m
Europe turns on the 'pervert glasses'
Meta sold seven million pairs of camera glasses last year, and Europe is now arguing about whether anyone consented to being filmed.
In brief
Meta sold seven million pairs of camera glasses last year, and Europe is now arguing about whether anyone consented to being filmed. Camera glasses went mainstream faster than any rule about filming strangers, and Europe is scrambling to catch up after the fact. Originally reported by Malay Mail.
A petition to ban them
Secretly filmed footage of girls and women started circulating online, and a British petition is now demanding smart glasses be pulled from sale entirely.
“Calls are growing louder in Europe for action against "pervert" smart glasses”
What the glasses actually do
A wearer can shoot photos and video, take calls, play music, translate text on the fly and talk to an AI assistant. Nobody around them can tell which.
Seven million pairs
Meta sold roughly seven million pairs in 2025, against two million across all of 2023 and 2024 combined. Google and Snap are lining up their own.
A Kardashian did the marketing
The devices broke into mainstream attention this summer through a tie-up between Meta and beauty mogul Kylie Jenner.
Google failed, Meta didn't
Google's 2013 attempt flopped. Meta partnered with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, put a camera in a normal-looking frame, and the format finally stuck.
Filmed without knowing
A 17-year-old girl told Channel 4 News in August that a man approached her and covertly recorded both her and their conversation.
The blinking light problem
Meta says it has blocked tampering with the LED that signals recording, and that firms selling LED-disabling services have shut down as a result.
“These investments are already having a deterrent effect”
Oslo banned them in schools
Norway's capital barred smart glasses from classrooms this week while the government weighs wider rules, including a ban on facial recognition in public.
Stickers as resistance
Swedish designer Mateusz Pozar built a "Ban Ray" site selling venue signs and stickers, after two men in the glasses recorded his girlfriend and rattled her.
“This is a lever to have a discussion about privacy, personal rights, control over my data.”
Who reviews your footage
Pozar also flagged reports of Kenya-based workers reviewing graphic content captured by Meta's AI glasses. What the camera sees does not stay with the wearer.
Brussels is still deciding
A Slovak MEP asked whether the glasses comply with data and AI rules and is still waiting for a reply. The Commission pointed to national watchdogs instead.
“We need clear EU rules to protect and strong enforcement”
Ban first, prove later
An EU data protection report on the glasses' social acceptability lands this autumn. One lawmaker isn't waiting, and the British petition sits near the 10,000 threshold that forces a government response.
“As things stand today, we should definitely go for a ban”
Here's the gist
Camera glasses went mainstream faster than any rule about filming strangers, and Europe is scrambling to catch up after the fact.
