The European Data Protection Board, the EU’s data watchdog, has recommended that smart glasses clearly indicate when they are filming or photographing people nearby. The board issued the non-binding guidance on Tuesday, as concern grows that the devices are being used to secretly record girls and women.
The board said smart glasses, which can look like ordinary eyewear but also take photos and video, make calls and translate text when connected to the internet, raise “serious privacy concerns”. Its chair, Anu Talus, proposed signals such as “bright LED lights, audio signals or voice activation cues, privacy-friendly smartphone notifications, or unique designs”.
Warnings must be reliable and hard to miss
“These warnings need to be reliable, hard to ignore, and always up to date,” Talus said. “Even in public spaces, bystanders should clearly understand that someone is filming or photographing them.”
Schools, hospitals and children face higher risks
The EDPB warned that the devices pose greater risks in sensitive locations such as schools and hospitals, as well as in public spots like beaches. It also raised concerns about children, who it said are “more vulnerable to covert or intrusive processing of their personal data”.
Restrictions gain ground across Europe
The advisory comes as campaigns in several European countries seek to ban or restrict smart glasses over privacy concerns. Norway’s government said last week that it shared those worries and wants a temporary ban on their use in certain public places. The capital, Oslo, has already banned glasses with cameras from schools.
France’s e-Enfance association, which runs the national hotline for victims of online abuse, has also raised alarm about videos recorded with camera-equipped glasses and shared online. Last month, French prosecutors said they had opened a criminal probe after sexual harassment complaints linked to a social media trend of filming women on the street without consent and posting the footage online.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a “Stop Smart Glasses” campaign has launched a petition and urged supporters to contact stores to halt sales. The petition has passed 10,000 signatures, a level that means the UK government must respond.
