cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/67195538
Paris (France) (AFP) – Paris prosecutors said Tuesday they had opened several probes after receiving complaints concerning women filmed on the street without their consent using smart glasses.
Anyone wearing smart glasses can take photos, film videos, listen to music, make phone calls, translate text or interact with an AI assistant.
Meta’s smart spectacles, developed in partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, have become a commercial success. Meta sold seven million pairs in 2025. Other companies, including Google and Snap, are also preparing to roll out AI-powered glasses.
Calls have grown in Europe for action against what campaigners call “pervert” smart glasses after secretly filmed footage of girls and women has appeared online, with a petition in Britain demanding a ban on their sale.
In France, the e-Enfance association, which operates the national hotline for victims of online abuse, earlier this month sounded the alarm about videos recorded with camera-equipped glasses and shared online.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday it had received “complaints relating to violations of privacy linked to the use of smart glasses”. Prosecutors did not say which brands were involved.
Prosecutors pointed to a “growing trend on social media involving women being filmed on the street with smart glasses without their consent and the videos being published online”.
Under French law, such an offence is punishable by up to two years in prison and a 45,000-euro ($51,000) fine.
Prosecutors said that in some cases investigations had also been opened for sexual assault when “the acts are accompanied by non-consensual sexual contact”.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said its cybercrime division “tested smart glasses in September in order to identify the commission of other cybercrime-related offences”.
Such offences could include the theft of a cryptocurrency wallet’s recovery phrase, enabling criminals to steal the funds.
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Thanks for the edit. The last time I posted about this there were a lot of people that took issue with the fact that it’s mostly men that are abusing these glasses to record women without consent.
Yeah, I just wanted to make my silly joke, but after posting and seeing more comments, I figured I’d better make my actual stance slightly more clear. heh.
I think the glasses are cringe. But I think the violence against women - mostly women because the idiots using these don’t just limit themselves to women but it’s… mostly women that are the victims - is horrible.
I hate that I can’t just make a simple joke without feeling the need to speak out against this problem - not that I have to speak out, that the problem exists and therefore we have to waste time on this bullshit. We shouldn’t have to work against any of this shit, it shouldn’t exist.
Thank you for your kindness in taking my edit to heart - I do know that it can be a pain when you have a serious topic and someone comes in just to be silly like I had. <3
I can appreciate a spot of levity here and there. As long as it’s a balance to the seriousness of a conversation instead of being the focal point depending on the subject.
Your silly joke was spot on with the way they titled the article :)