A mounting backlash against AI-powered smart glasses has erupted across Europe after covert recordings of women and girls surfaced online. Britain now hosts a petition demanding an outright sales ban on the devices.
The controversy follows explosive growth for the product category. Meta sold roughly seven million pairs in 2025, a leap from two million combined during 2023 and 2024. Google and Snap both plan to release their own AI-enabled spectacles soon.
Smart glasses let wearers shoot photos, capture video, place calls, translate text, and access AI assistants. A summer campaign pairing Meta with beauty mogul Kylie Jenner pushed the devices further into mainstream awareness. However, their spread has triggered fierce criticism, particularly in Britain, where tabloids have labeled them “pervert glasses.”
One case involved a 17-year-old girl who told Channel 4 News that a stranger approached her in August while secretly filming their encounter.
Meta told AFP it has invested in safeguards to prevent users from disabling the blinking LED light that signals recording is underway. The company said firms offering to tamper with that light had shut down as a result.
Meanwhile, Oslo banned the glasses in schools this week. Norway’s government is weighing broader restrictions, including a potential prohibition on facial recognition features in public spaces.
In Britain and Ireland, the “Stop Smart Glasses” campaign has gathered over 9,100 signatures. At 10,000, the government must formally respond. Campaign co-founder Guy Holder, a teacher, cited risks to women and girls plus what he called an “invasion” of public spaces that could enable “total surveillance.”
EU lawmaker Veronika Cifrova Ostrihonova has asked the European Commission whether the glasses comply with data protection and AI regulations. She awaits an answer. “We need clear EU rules to protect and strong enforcement to make sure new technologies don’t come at the expense of our fundamental rights,” she said.
Slovak lawmaker Alex Agius Saliba went further. “As things stand today, we should definitely go for a ban” until the glasses prove safe, he said.
The European Data Protection Board has commissioned a report on the devices’ social acceptability, due this autumn. That document will likely shape Parliament’s next move.
