Meta fixes smart glasses recording loophole amid global privacy backlash

A wave of legislative and corporate responses to the privacy risks posed by smart glasses is gaining momentum across three continents, as governments move to restrict the devices and new consumer tools emerge to counter covert recording.

Australia Prepares Import Ban

Australia's Greens party, backed by crossbench independents, is preparing to introduce legislation in the next parliamentary session to suspend imports of camera-equipped smart glasses for at least 12 months. The proposal follows two petitions that have garnered tens of thousands of signatures calling for restrictions on the sale and importation of the devices, which critics have dubbed "pervert glasses."abc

"If we allow millions of these devices into the country, there will be no place where privacy is respected," said Greens senator David Shoebridge. Independent senators David Pocock and Kate Chaney have expressed support for the measure. The bill would also amend Australia's Privacy Act to require explicit consent before filming, storing, or sharing footage from wearable recording devices — extending privacy protections to individuals for the first time.abc

The push comes as basic smart glasses have become available in Australia for as little as $40, raising fears about a surge in covert recording and online harassment trends.abc

Norway and California Tighten Rules

Norway's Digitalisation Minister Karianne Tung announced plans to regulate smart glasses more strictly, including a possible ban on facial recognition capabilities. "We must prevent this equipment from being used to monitor other people in public places," Tung said, adding that an expert advisory group would be formed to counsel the government on privacy concerns.biometricupdate

In California, Senate Bill 1130 — the Wearable Device Privacy Protection Act — would make it a misdemeanor to record someone with a wearable device in private areas of a business without explicit consent, punishable by up to one year in county jail or state prison and fines up to $1,500 per violation. The bill, still in progress as of late August, would also prohibit disabling recording indicator lights on such devices.sd29.senate.ca+2

Meta Closes Loopholes as Detection Apps Emerge

Meta ↗ 1.21% is addressing the controversy from the corporate side. The company announced on Thursday that its Ray-Ban smart glasses will now stop recording if the privacy LED is covered during a recording session — closing a loophole that allowed wearers to bypass earlier protections. "Only a tiny minority of people try to get around these protections," wrote Alex Himel, Meta's vice president of augmented reality, on Threads.theverge

Meta has also launched a billboard campaign in cities where glasses sales are popular, emphasizing that the LED indicates when recording is active.theverge

Meanwhile, new apps including Zuckoff, Antizuck Smart Glasses Scanner, and Nearby Glasses have emerged to alert users when Bluetooth signals from smart glasses are detected nearby — though they cannot determine whether a device is actively recording.texasstandard