Samsung and Meta passed the buck on smartglasses privacy. It’s about to badly backfire

California Senate Bill SB 1130 may not have the most exciting name, but it may turn out to be exactly what Google, Meta, Samsung, and many other technology companies don’t want.

If enacted, the bill will penalize people who use wearable tech to covertly record others in certain situations, and try to cover up the fact they are recording.

It's a good thing, but it also threatens to create doubt and worry over the legitimate use of smartglasses with a camera built in, may put people off buying them in the first place, and be the basis for other, similar laws to be enacted elsewhere.

Bad news for the tech brands with millions of dollars invested, then. Unfortunately, they only have themselves to blame.

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Posts By  Andy Boxall

What is California Senate Bill SB 1130?

Bad news for big tech

The SB 1130 bill is an amendment to sections of the Penal Code and titled, Invasion of Privacy: Wearable Recording Devices. It addresses the many, ongoing privacy concerns around wearables like the Ray-Ban Meta.

It amends the law on using wearable recording devices to eavesdrop or record confidential communications, and adds:

This bill would additionally prohibit a person from operating a wearable recording device, as defined, to capture sound or video of any other person in any area within a place of business, as defined, where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy unless the person operating the device has the explicit consent of that person to capture sound or video of that person.

It would enable an up to $1,500 fine and a possible prison sentence for those breaking the rule. It also makes it a legal requirement to include a light or sound indicator to show a recording is taking place, and makes it illegal to make or sell products that disable the indicator. A fine of up to $2,500 would be put in place.

Protects some, but not all

Only in business premises

It’s worth noting the bill explicitly states recording without consent would be outlawed in “a place of business,” meaning offices, stores, or environments where goods and services are bought and sold, like malls and markets.

Crucially, Consumer Reports states this means it will include, “restrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, and medical examination rooms.”

Additionally, the California Federation of Labor Unions says it’ll be good news for workers, writing: “Wearers of AI-enabled glasses can surreptitiously record workers, often in restaurants, retail, and hospitality, and expose their identities and interactions publicly without consent.”

Both support the SB 1130 amendment. However, what does it mean for the person on the street? This is where things are less clear. According to The National Law Review, trying to clarify an expectation of privacy outside business environments is difficult. It writes:

While walking down a public sidewalk in California does not generally give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy for visual observation, California law can be more protective than many other states when it comes to audio recording of conversations, targeted or technologically enhanced surveillance, and publication of private facts, even when the underlying events occurred in technically “public” spaces.

The context, the nature of the information, and the technology used all matter. This may be why SB 1130 focuses specifically on places of business where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, rather than attempting to regulate all public recording.

Is everyone in favor?

Highlighting the wider problem

Few will say camera-equipped smartglasses pose no privacy issues at all. However, issues with SB 1130 are being pointed out. The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) writes:

Everyone deserves strong privacy protections, and those protections need to be paired with clear, workable rules. SB 1130, as drafted, risks holding manufacturers, retailers, and other businesses liable for the actions of individuals while creating uncertainty around what products and conduct are actually covered. California can protect privacy without discouraging innovation or exposing responsible businesses to broad and unpredictable liability.

Understanding the bill and the arguments for and against is important, because while some states and other countries have a few, narrow restrictions on using wearables to record without consent, SB 1130 is much broader in scale, and should it be enacted, the law will be the first of its kind.

And with it will come first-of-their-kind problems for tech fans

Tech brands have left it up to the courts

Now they face the consequences

During the first public showing of its forthcoming smartglasses, Samsung highlighted its use of an LED recording light, and said it wouldn’t use audio or video recorded with the glasses to train its AI models.

However, it sidestepped other privacy concerns. Jaein Choi, a vice president for Samsung’s Mobile Experience Division, told the LA Times it was an industry-shared problem. He said:

The intentional bad uses need to be covered and protected against. But if you stop the innovation, we don’t go anywhere.

In an Instagram Stories Ask Me Anything (AMA), Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth responded to a question about how it will tackle stigma around people wearing smartglasses every day.

Bosworth responded by saying the people who bought them “used them and liked them.” He said Meta would do its best to address concerns and “be part of the conversation,” but finished by saying he considers them “widely accepted.”

Both Samsung and Meta are happy to admit there are privacy and societal problems with camera-equipped smartglasses, and they should be addressed. Just not by them. In a way they’re correct, they make tech products, not laws. But avoiding wider issues isn’t the answer.

Speaking to Android Police about smartglasses and privacy, Vuzix’s Matt Margolis said privacy was paramount for its business customers, and recognized it was still a problem that needed to be solved for consumers. He said government intervention may be required to help solve the issue.

That’s where we are now. Governments are being forced into action, and the whole thing may backfire on the tech brands that sat back and made the hard-to-solve privacy issues someone else’s problem.

Tech fans negatively influenced by the backlash

Fewer buyers for pervert glasses

When there are too many problems with any product, people will be put off buying it.

Wearing a device some are calling ‘pervert glasses’ is bad enough, as is even a single sideways glance or accusatory question about whether you’re recording or not.

Being mindful about wearing camera-equipped smartglasses in a retail store, near a school, at a meeting, or on a date will undoubtably make the conscientious tech fan think twice before even putting them on.

If SB 1130 is enacted, people may leave their smartglasses at home if they’re visiting a place where an accidental recording could see them break a law. Legal question marks over the use of a product rarely encourage purchases.

Those who abuse the camera feature probably won’t worry about any of this, and this puts normal buyers who use them responsibly in an even more difficult situation, as they may feel guilty by association.

Meta pays Kylie Jenner to influence you into buying a pair of its smartglasses. Laws that make people question where and when it’s safe and reasonable to wear them, along with nicknames that suggest wearers are peeping toms, will influence people to do the opposite.

The SB 1130 bill is in progress and has passed its first chamber vote in California. It is awaiting its second chamber vote, which will likely take place before the end of August.

If it passes and is enacted, it may prompt other states to bring in similar laws, and put tech brands and fans in a difficult situation.

Samsung and Google are expected to launch intelligent eyewear with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster towards the end of the year. Meta's smartglasses made with Ray-Ban and Oakley are available to buy now.