Calls to regulate smart glasses are growing in Europe
Calls are growing in European countries to regulate the use and sale of smart glasses after videos featuring covert filming of girls and women appeared online. In the United Kingdom, the Stop Smart Glasses campaign is collecting signatures for a petition to ban the sale of such devices, The Local Sweden reports.
Smart glasses can take photos and videos, play music, make calls, translate text and interact with an artificial intelligence-based assistant. Meta is developing its glasses in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban. According to the source, Meta sold about 7 million pairs in 2025, compared with 2 million pairs combined in 2023 and 2024.
Ban in Oslo schools
Oslo, Norway's capital, banned such glasses in schools this week. The Norwegian government is considering regulating their use, including a possible ban on facial recognition functions in public places.
France's personal data protection authority, CNIL, called for vigilance. European Parliament member Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová asked the European Commission whether the devices comply with data protection rules and EU artificial intelligence regulations. According to her, she has not yet received a response.
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The European Commission said that monitoring and enforcement of privacy rules fall within the remit of national data protection authorities. At the same time, the independent European Data Protection Board commissioned a study on the social acceptability of smart glasses, which is expected in the autumn.
Concerns over recording without knowledge
Critics point to the possibility of recording people without their knowledge or consent. In particular, a 17-year-old girl told Channel 4 News in August that a man approached her and covertly recorded her and their interaction. Meta said it had taken measures against tampering with the LED indicator meant to notify people nearby that recording is taking place. The company also said that companies offering to disable this indicator had ceased operations.
The Stop Smart Glasses petition in the United Kingdom and Ireland has gathered more than 9,100 signatures. If it reaches 10,000 signatures, the UK government must provide a response. One of the campaign's founders, teacher Guy Holder, voiced concern about the consequences of using the devices for girls and women and the risk of increased surveillance in public spaces.
