An array of UK businesses and institutions have announced bans on people wearing Meta’s smart glasses, citing privacy and moral concerns. The Guardian reports that UK courtrooms are now confiscating the devices from anyone trying to wear them in court, while pub chain Wetherspoons is no longer allowing them.
Meta’s smart glasses include a built-in camera for recording images and video, as well as integrating AI features, music listening, and phone calls. But it’s their potential for covert recording that has so many concerned. They’ve been used in harassment content on social media, and after months of public pushback, a number of UK venues are banning them outright.
Alongside Wetherspoons and its 800 pubs across the UK, London restaurateur Jeremy King told The Guardian that his Arlington, The Park, and Simpsons restaurants have all banned the glasses. ATG Theatres, which owns the Bristol Hippodrome and various theaters across London, doesn’t allow filming and will ask anyone wearing them to remove them.
Soho private members’ clubs have banned the glasses too, as has the UK’s promoter of major Comic-Con events. They go even further than others, claiming that if anyone is spotted wearing them, they may be asked to leave the event and forced to forfeit any pre-booked signings, photographs, or other events.
There has been some support for the glasses. Modern “glassholes” can still eat at Michelin chef Tom Kerridge’s restaurants and pubs, who said he has no problem with the devices.
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Meta pushed back on the bans, noting that its glasses include a light that lets you know when you’re being recorded, and that it has improved anti-tamper measures. This comes after a report from journalist Joanna Stern, who found that modders are removing the indicator light for $100.
Still, the market for non-display smart glasses grew 167% year over year in Q1, according to June data from IDC. Meta held 69.2% of the overall smart glasses market, thanks largely to its Ray-Ban partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear maker, “and a marketing machine that few hardware companies can replicate,” IDC says.
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Jon Martindale is a tech journalist from the UK, with 20 years of experience covering all manner of PC components and associated gadgets. He’s written for a range of publications, including ExtremeTech, Digital Trends, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and Lifewire, among others. When not writing, he’s a big board gamer and reader, with a particular habit of speed-reading through long manga sagas.
Jon covers the latest PC components, as well as how-to guides on everything from how to take a screenshot to how to set up your cryptocurrency wallet. He particularly enjoys the battles between the top tech giants in CPUs and GPUs, and tries his best not to take sides.
Jon’s gaming PC is built around the iconic 7950X3D CPU, with a 7900XTX backing it up. That’s all the power he needs to play lightweight indie and casual games, as well as more demanding sim titles like Kerbal Space Program. He uses a pair of Jabra Active 8 earbuds and a SteelSeries Arctis Pro wireless headset, and types all day on a Logitech G915 mechanical keyboard.
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