The UK government is reviewing options to restrict smart glasses in certain settings and limit sales to certain users after MPs raised concerns about covert filming of women and girls.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
The UK government is considering restrictions on smart glasses following concerns that the devices are being used to film women and girls without their consent, The Independent reported.
Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman told parliament that creators are receiving "millions" of views and profiting from covert filming, describing the situation as "monetised misogyny, plain and simple." She said UK law is a "wild west" when it comes to privacy and online abuse.
"It doesn’t matter that the same harassing behaviour is replicated across potentially dozens of women," she said. "All that currently matters in the law is that it is not done repeatedly to the same woman. As such, this disgusting behaviour is not only legal, but profitable."
Labour MP Satvir Kaur said ministers were reviewing options to restrict smart glasses "in certain settings", and the sale of them to "certain users". She added the work was happening "at pace".
Ms Kaur said NHS England and the Department for Education were both examining wearable technology in certain settings, but did not expand on what this involved. She added that "appropriate next steps" are also being considered over concerns raised about the use of smart glasses in parliament.
The debate was introduced by Anna Sabine MP, who said smart glasses can "erode safety and privacy in public spaces" and that "women and girls will be disproportionately impacted". She acknowledged the benefits smart glasses can provide to blind and partially sighted people, and said she was in discussion with the Royal National Institute for the Blind.
Filming in public places is legal in the UK, but filming in areas where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy is not generally allowed without the explicit consent of the landowner.
Greater Manchester Police previously arrested a 27-year-old man from Bradford on suspicion of voyeurism and harassment, in connection with reports of women being followed, filmed, and harassed in Manchester city centre. In January, the force said it was considering taking civil action after the criminal investigation collapsed due to "limits within the current legislation". The Independent reported this included the requirement in a harassment offence for the same individual to be targeted multiple times.
Domestic abuse charity Refuge has repeatedly warned the glasses "threaten the safety of all women and girls in public, facilitating harassment, surveillance and other abuse".
The debate highlights a gap between existing harassment law and new wearable technology. MPs say the current legal threshold, which requires repeated targeting of the same individual, leaves victims unprotected when different women are filmed by the same or different offenders. The government’s review could lead to new rules on where smart glasses can be used and who can buy them, though no specific restrictions or timeline have been announced.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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