EU data watchdog urges smart glasses to flash clear recording signals
The European Data Protection Board issued a non-binding recommendation on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, as Norway, France and UK campaigners push for bans over secret filming of women and girls.
A non-binding call for visible recording signals
On Tuesday, 13 October 2026, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) recommended that smart glasses clearly show when they are recording. According to the board, people in public are entitled to know when a camera is pointed at them. Smart glasses can look like ordinary eyewear, yet they also take photos and videos, make phone calls and translate text when connected to the internet, which the EDPB said raises 'serious privacy concerns'.
The board proposed bright LED lights, audio signals, voice activation cues, privacy-friendly smartphone notifications or distinctive designs as ways to show recording. Its chair, Anu Talus, presented the advice as a non-binding opinion.
These warnings need to be reliable, hard to ignore, and always up to date.
The EDPB warned that the risks grow in sensitive spaces such as schools, hospitals and workplaces, and in public spots such as beaches. It also flagged children, who it said are more vulnerable to covert or intrusive processing of their personal data, whether they wear the glasses or are filmed by them.
Bans and campaigns across Europe
The advisory arrives as several European countries debate bans or restrictions. Norway's government said it was worried about privacy invasions and wants a temporary ban on using smart glasses in certain public places. Reporting that places the announcement in early October lists parks, beaches, museums, shopping centres, schools, nurseries, healthcare facilities and gyms as possible locations. The Norwegian government has said it does not plan a general ban. The capital Oslo has already banned glasses equipped with cameras in its schools.
- French prosecutors open a criminal probe over women filmed on the street with smart glasses
- Norway's government announces plans for a temporary ban in certain public places
- EDPB issues a non-binding recommendation that smart glasses clearly signal recording
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a 'Stop Smart Glasses' campaign has launched a petition and asked supporters to contact stores to stop their sale. The petition has more than 10,000 signatures, which the reporting says obliges the UK government to respond.
Harassment complaints in France
French prosecutors said in September 2026 that they had opened a criminal probe after sexual harassment complaints linked to a social media trend of filming women on the street without consent and posting the videos online. The e-Enfance association, which runs the national hotline for victims of online abuse, reported around twenty complaints of women filmed without consent, most often with Meta glasses. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened several investigations after receiving complaints.
Sales growth and the backlash
Tech figures have for years promoted the glasses as the next step for smart devices after watches. RFI reports that sales are beginning to take off in many places, even as calls grow in Europe to ban the devices from public spaces or pull them from sale. Models marketed by Meta under the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands are among those drawing concern. The EDPB recommendation is non-binding, so any change in recording indicators would depend on manufacturers and national rules.
