Glasses That Watch While Looking Ordinary
The European Data Protection Board issued a non-binding recommendation on Tuesday that smart glasses should clearly show when they are recording. The board states the principle narrowly: bystanders have the right to know when they are being photographed or filmed. Non-binding means the recommendation carries no direct legal force — it states a standard rather than imposing one.
The device class at issue is what makes the problem slippery. Smart glasses can resemble ordinary spectacles while also taking photos and videos, making phone calls and translating text once connected to the internet. On the record, the board finds that this combination raises “serious privacy concerns.” EDPB chair Anu Talus lists what an adequate signal could look like: “bright LED lights, audio signals or voice activation cues, privacy-friendly smartphone notifications, or unique designs.” [1] The requirement behind the list is stricter than the list itself — such warnings must be “reliable, hard to ignore, and always up to date.” [1] And the demand does not stop at the edge of private property: “Even in public spaces, bystanders should clearly understand that someone is filming or photographing them.” [1]
Where the Risk Concentrates Most Sharply
A field guide would say: look for habitat. The board locates the greater risk in “sensitive” spaces such as schools and hospitals, and in public spots such as beaches. Children sit at the centre of that concern, being “more vulnerable to covert or intrusive processing of their personal data.”
Norway’s government said last week it is worried about the same invasion of privacy and wants a temporary ban on the use of smart glasses in certain public places. In the capital, Oslo has already opted to ban glasses equipped with cameras in schools.
France’s e-Enfance association, which operates the national hotline for victims of online abuse, has sounded the alarm about videos recorded with camera-equipped glasses and then shared online. That concern is no longer only a matter of advocacy. French prosecutors opened a criminal probe last month following sexual harassment complaints tied to a social media trend of using smart glasses to film women on the street without their consent and posting the videos online.
A Petition, a Prosecution, and a Retail Campaign
The advisory lands amid campaigns in several European countries to ban or restrict smart glasses over privacy concerns. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a “Stop Smart Glasses” campaign has launched a petition and urged supporters to contact stores to halt sales. It has reached more than 10,000 signatures — the threshold that obliges the UK government to respond.
The recommendation carries no legal force, so the question of whether smart glasses must signal when they record now sits with national governments and retailers rather than with the board that raised it.
