r/ireland • u/Dee-Dee-Mauwe • 17h ago
Careful now "Smart glasses must give 'clear warnings' when recording", EU watchdog says, as privacy concerns backlash grows
https://rte.ie/news/2026/1013/1595264-eu-smart-glasses-privacy/21
u/AbbreviationsNo9500 16h ago
Step 1: Set up YouTube channel. Step 2: Buy these glasses. Step 3: Wear them to cinema and livestream a movie.
Won't be long before the film industry starts complaining about these glasses and lobbying for restrictions.
109
u/IGotABruise 17h ago
Please just ban them
22
14
8
u/Fluffy-Republic8610 15h ago
No they are going to do wonders for people with disabilities. Life changing independence tools. They will change lives for the better like wheelchairs.
Just ban them from recording and keeping the video and audio.
-1
27
u/Willing-Departure115 17h ago
Perverts will just find ways around the pervert glasses alerting people they’re switched on.
13
16
18
u/SaintPwner 16h ago
I just want smart glasses with a cool HUD...not for recording prank videos or for being a pervert. Why can't the future be fun and and not gross
3
u/GeneralCommand4459 16h ago
I was thinking this also, they don’t need to record, they just need to able to overlay things like map directions, playlists, messages etc.
3
u/TitularClergy 12h ago
This is precisely what Google Glass did. And also Google Glass was fecking obvious, unlike the Meta headsets.
Also Google Glass is absolutely superb for people who can't hear. It can project captions of what is being said, so the person can read what's being said while not breaking eye contact.
1
12
u/BackInATracksuit 16h ago
They need to be banned or just publicly shamed into unacceptably.
I have a business and if anyone comes in with those on, they'll be asked to take them off or go elsewhere. Simple as that.
If someone walked in holding a phone or a camera up to my face I'd react the same.
I know this line of "you can't expect privacy in public" has become a bit of a mantra for people, but it's bollocks as far as I'm concerned.
I can and do expect a certain amount of privacy and decency in public.
2
u/OrangeBagOffNuts 12h ago
It's funny I have a few pairs of those and used to love wearing them all over the place, great gadgets but now if I ever going into any business or interact with anyone I instinctively remove them before even crossing a door, people don't really notice them unless you're recording and there's a light, but now I don't feel comfortable with someone thinking I'm recording them without consent which I never did never will so I remove them, creeps ruining everything
•
u/Silver_Response4707 49m ago
I have them too. I even turn mine off to preserve battery most of the day. Everyone hates on them but they have zero understanding what the light even looks like as it records.
A very small part of me thinks that majority of the backlash stems from the fact that everyone is afraid of saying something on camera that makes them go viral - their Karen moment.
7
u/KaleidoscopeLeft5511 16h ago
The warning is obviously going to be an indicator light. Any type of hardware like that is easily bypassed by software mad, hardware mod, or even just blocking the indicator light
These glasses should be outright banned. This feels like a weak step from the EU because for whatever, vested, interest they want these things to become mainstream
5
u/Lamake91 Calor Housewife of the Year 16h ago
I watched a video online somewhere, can’t remember the platform, but I think it may have been a US outlet? There are 100’s of people on Facebook advertising their services to remove the indicator lights, it’s very easily done.
These glasses are genius for those who need them such as those who are visually impaired but after that there is absolutely zero need.
•
u/Silver_Response4707 48m ago
Meta are actively addressing this. They’re threatening to “brick” the device, essentially rendering it useless
2
u/TitularClergy 12h ago
Google Glass was completely obvious, unlike the Meta glasses, which just look like RayBan Wayfarers (and in so doing, destroying an iconic brand).
And Google Glass also worked offline. What is so creepy about the Meta glasses is that they are sending everything to Meta, not so much that they have a camera. After all, there are security cameras literally everywhere. It's unfortunate that the Meta glasses are not more obvious. But also it is trivial to set up a covert camera today, and that's unlikely to change in the near future. One that doesn't give itself away by looking like a pair of RayBan glasses.
Outright bans, of course, would be discriminatory at the very least. Obviously the likes of Google Glass are fantastic for live displays of maps while cycling etc. and they had great offline voice recognition too. But by far the best use of them I saw was for someone who couldn't hear. The transcription of the ambient conversation would appear on the screen so that they could see the transcript without having to break eye contact.
And similarly, Google Glass and Meta glasses give audio descriptions and directions to people who cannot hear.
It would be extreme discrimination to talk about removing those needs from people.
All those people talking about banning, you need to come up with a solution which doesn't involve discrimination against disabled people. Otherwise you are literally the one disabling them.
5
4
3
u/neilbaldwn 16h ago
You'd have to be a next-level cunt to buy and wear these in public.
There's only one reason to have them and that reason is not a good one.
3
0
u/BilbaoBoggins 17h ago
Just ban the fucking things. The only people who will actually use these are perverts.
0
3
u/GaleIthGZ 16h ago
Just ban them, i don't want a clear warning, i want to go out without some creepy person recording everything; going to public places doesn't make you a public person, nobody has the right to record you.
2
1
2
u/Marcadicity 10h ago
Came across a video of some guy in the US offering a Meta Glasses LED indicator removal service.
The amount of his "customers" in those videos that obscured their face or demanded their face be blurred "for their privacy" when they copped they're being recorded by him....
•
u/Silver_Response4707 43m ago
Meta glasses aren’t getting banned. Another product will replace it in a matter of years so it’s pointless.
The headline here is only pointing out that if these devices are to exist, the lights must be present, not tampered with, and unmistakably noticeable to people.
2
-1
u/SnoopyGue 15h ago
ich liebe es wenn ihr euch in mimimimimi reinsteigert ohne nachzudenken… jedes !! handy kann das selbe, kommt lasst uns alle handys verbieten, achja und falls ihr mal lust habt, checkt doch „Spycams“ auf amazon, juhuuuu soooo viele sachen zum verbieten..
-24
u/MyDadstheBoss 17h ago
But cctv doesn't 🤔
23
u/Cill-e-in 17h ago
Nonsense comparison. What else is CCTV pretending to be? Half the value of CCTV is people know they’re being recorded so stupid stuff doesn’t happen. There’s also restrictions on the use of CCTV in most countries - eg, not being able to film neighbouring premises… the kind of thing you can do with smart glasses.
6
u/Ok-Plantain-4259 16h ago
Also not true most establishments have the "this site is monitored by cctv" as a sign and you can generally see cameras right up there with any damage done to a vehicle while parked on our site isnt our liability.
Also you can generally see cameras they look like cameras whereas the glasses look like glasses.
-4
u/MyDadstheBoss 16h ago
Or a drone.
5
u/BilbaoBoggins 16h ago
I'd also like to pass a law where if you see a drone you are entitled to shoot it down. Another total invasion of people's privacy.
1
u/NakeDex 16h ago
Majority of people with drones flying them for fun, not for staring at people. The problem is registering them isn't enforced, so people flying them where and how they're not supposed to has no comeback, even if you did take the drone down.
1
-2
u/MyDadstheBoss 16h ago
And a majority with these glasses are perverts? Any proof of this or anecdotal?
1
u/NakeDex 15h ago
I... didn't say they were? Maybe relax on the accusatory tone and re-read what I said.
1
u/MyDadstheBoss 15h ago
You said a majority of people using dtones ise them for fun not staring at people. Thats implying people using the glasses are.
1
1
u/NakeDex 15h ago
Ah yes, the solution is clearly the discharge of illegal firearms at legally owned property. Not over the top and incredibly dangerous at all. Even in the US, where guns are plentiful and laws are lax around engagement on private property, this is considered grossly illegal, and with good cause.
The Internet hard man look isn't a good one. Have a think before you type next time. Nobody is impressed.
1
u/MyDadstheBoss 16h ago
Youll need another law to allow guns and using them in public.
1
1
u/Cill-e-in 6h ago
Drones have licenses beyond a certain size - they also have restrictions… like CCTV. We generally try to protect people’s rights to privacy by making sure cameras can’t be shoved in your face 24/7, especially outside of public settings.
Do you believe these glasses should get special treatment? If so, why?
8
3
u/The_almighty_Gerry 16h ago
CCTV is in a fixed location and if used in public spaces there must be signage informing that the space is being recorded
10
49
u/quondam47 Carlow 17h ago
Meta is donating 15,000 pairs to Vision Ireland. They’re really trying hard to clean up the perception of their spy glasses.