Calls are increasing in Europe for action against smart glasses following the surfacing of secretly recorded footage of girls and women online, with a petition in Britain demanding a ban on their sale, according to the "Daily Star."
Smart glasses can be worn by anyone to take photos and videos, listen to music, make phone calls, translate texts, or interact with an artificial intelligence assistant, and they have now reached millions.
These devices gained attention this summer after a marketing partnership between Kylie Jenner, the beauty mogul and member of the Kardashian family, and the tech giant Meta.
Major tech companies are increasingly looking at glasses as the next big thing in wearable technology, thanks to advancements made in artificial intelligence.
Google's attempt in 2013 failed to succeed in this field, but Meta's smart glasses, developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the manufacturer of Ray-Ban glasses, have been much more successful.
Meta sold about seven million pairs in 2025, up from a total of two million pairs in 2023 and 2024. Other companies, including Google and Snap, are also preparing to launch glasses powered by AI technology.
But with rapid growth came a backlash.
Concerns peaked last summer in Europe, especially in Britain, which saw extensive media coverage of so-called "pervert glasses" alongside reports that Meta is developing a facial recognition feature to be integrated into the devices.
In one case, a 17-year-old girl recounted to British news channel "Channel 4 News" in August how a man approached her and secretly recorded her and their interaction.
Meta stated that it has taken multiple steps to prevent manipulation of the blinking LED light meant to show others that the device is recording – a major concern for critics.
It said, "These investments already have a deterrent effect," noting that companies that offered to disable LED lights have closed their doors as a result.
The Norwegian capital, Oslo, has banned glasses in schools while the government is considering regulating their use and looking into banning features that enable facial recognition in public places. Similar calls have been made at the European Union (EU) level to address this issue, while France's national data protection authority (CNIL) has urged "vigilance."