UK considers smart glasses restrictions over secret filming concerns
The UK government is considering placing restrictions on smart glasses, amid concerns that the wearable devices are being used to film women secretly.
Safeguarding minister Satvir Kaur told the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the UK Parliament, that the government is looking into options to restrict smart glasses in certain settings. The Guardian reported that the options also include restricting sales to certain users. MLex reported, citing the minister, that manufacturers could face restrictions on UK sales.
Kaur said smart glasses can come with built-in cameras, microphones and displays. She said people who use them to film already risk breaking the law in some places, such as a courtroom, where cameras are prohibited. Reuters has reported that courts in England and Wales have prohibited the use of Meta smart glasses for the same reason.
Kaur also said healthcare and education already have safeguarding and professional policies that apply to smart glasses and digital recording. NHS England, which runs the National Health Service in England, and the Department for Education are currently looking into wearable technology in certain settings.
The debate was led by Liberal Democrat MP Anna Sabine, the party's culture spokesperson. Sabine said women are reporting that after nights out they wake up to find videos of themselves have gone viral online, filmed without their knowledge or consent by men wearing smart glasses. She said that one of the selling points of the glasses in advertisements was that they could be used to film discreetly.
Kaur said the glasses have also helped visually impaired people find their way around, describing them as a significant aid to navigation. The government's options, she indicated, would need to weigh that use alongside the concerns about filming.
Other governments have also been looking at the devices. Reuters reported that Australia is considering barring the use of camera-equipped smart glasses in government workplaces because of privacy and security concerns. Oslo public schools have banned AI glasses, according to Reuters.
In the UK, Reform UK member of the Senedd Jason O'Connell, who represents Pontypridd, Cynon and Merthyr, read a speech from a teleprompter feature built into his smart glasses last month. He defended his use of the glasses in the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament's debating chamber.
