Meta’s smart glasses have exploded in popularity in recent times. Despite how people perceived wearable face tech years ago, the Meta Ray-Ban glasses not only made them better but also fashionable. Unfortunately, the social problem is still there.
Now, restaurants, pubs, private clubs, and theatres across the UK are introducing restrictions on Meta’s camera-equipped glasses over concerns that customers and employees could be filmed without realizing it. The response closely echoes the bans and public hostility that followed Google Glass more than a decade ago.
Take off the glasses or turn off the camera
London restaurateur Jeremy King, whose venues include Simpsons in the Strand, Arlington, and The Park, told The Guardian that guests should not wear the recording glasses inside. Soho House confirmed that its existing prohibition on filming extends to smart glasses, meaning members may be asked to remove them.
Wetherspoons has taken a slightly narrower position, saying customers cannot use the glasses to record patrons or employees without permission. ATG Theatres will similarly ask people to remove them during performances because filming is prohibited. The policies therefore vary between outright removal and restrictions on camera use.
It is an uncannily familiar sequence. Seattle restaurants began banning Google Glass in 2013 over fears that patrons could be recorded discreetly. UK and US cinemas followed with restrictions motivated by privacy and movie-piracy concerns.
A tiny recording light has not created trust
Just recently, Meta confirmed that its glasses display a blinking capture LED whenever someone takes a photo or records video. The company has also introduced protections that disable the camera when the indicator is covered, damaged, or physically altered.
Those safeguards have struggled to reassure everyone. People have reported being recorded without prior knowledge, including incidents where footage was uploaded to social media. Instagram has been working on removing smart-glasses videos that exploit or harass the people appearing in them. So with millions of these “spy” glasses in the market, a little more privacy is always welcome in public spaces.