'There are clear restrictions on taking images or videos within courts and tribunals'
Meta-branded smart glasses have been outlawed in courts across England and Wales in a bid to stamp out secret filming. His Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service — the body that runs all criminal, civil and family courts in England and Wales — has banned these gadgets from judicial buildings.
If you show up wearing the smart specs, you'll be asked to hand them over at the door and will get them back once you leave. Scotland has not made a similar motion.
The reason? Meta's specs look like a normal pair of glasses, but have a built-in camera that can snap photos and shoot video. That means someone could potentially sit through an entire court hearing secretly filming everything.
Taking images or recording inside courts in England and Wales without permission is already a criminal offence, with those caught filming prosecuted for contempt of court.
A spokesperson for the court told The Guardian: "There are clear restrictions on taking images or videos within courts and tribunals, which is why the use of Meta glasses is prohibited."
Earlier this year, a man appearing in a High Court case was accused of wearing smart glasses to receive coaching during cross-examination — essentially getting answers fed to him through the built-in speakers while being questioned. He denied the accusation, saying the glasses weren't connected via his phone.
Smart glasses are meant to work as AI-powered eyewear that blends style with functionality. They let you capture photos and videos hands-free, listen to music, take phone calls, and access information on the go. It's meant to be ideal if you enjoy capturing video clips and keeping memories hands-free.
Meta did design the glasses with an LED light to notify others when it has started to record video. This light switches on automatically to flag to those around you that they could be captured on video.
However, wearers found they could tamper with the small LED light that's meant to show when the glasses are recording. That meant wearers could secretly film others without them ever knowing. Some used the glasses to capture intimate footage of ex-partners and share it online.
The backlash was fierce enough that the devices earned the nickname "pervert glasses" across social media. Additionally, a recent investigation found videos from glasses of people undressing and using the toilet were being watched. It has since sparked a debate over whether cameras should be built into the specs at all.
It's not just the courts cracking down, either. A wave of bans has swept across venues up and down the country.
Wetherspoons, with its 800 pubs nationwide, no longer allows anyone to wear the glasses on its premises. London restaurateur Jeremy King has barred them from his Arlington, The Park, and Simpsons restaurants too. ATG Theatres — which runs the Bristol Hippodrome and a string of London venues — already prohibits filming, and will now ask anyone spotted wearing the specs to take them off.
Soho's private members' clubs have followed suit, and even the UK's major Comic-Con events have gone a step further. Anyone caught wearing the glasses at a convention risks being kicked out entirely and losing any pre-booked signings, photo opportunities, or other ticketed events they have already purchased.
Meta has attempted to solve the problem of secret recording in a recent update.
The US tech firm has rolled out a mandatory update for its smart specs — completely shutting down the camera the moment that someone messes with the privacy indicator light.
Meta said in a statement: "The camera is disabled when people try to do this. Beginning with our second generation of glasses, the camera is automatically disabled if we detect that the capture LED has been blocked. No photos or videos can be taken until we detect that the light is unblocked.
"Since the introduction of this safeguard, we’ve seen some people go beyond using tape to sophisticated efforts to modify or destroy the capture LED. We are continuously improving our ability to detect tampering, and now we’re updating the glasses to disable the camera if they detect the LED was physically tampered with or destroyed. No other kind of camera has done this, and we’re proud to lead the industry forward."
Despite these concerns, they don't appear to have affected Meta's sales.
Meta shifted around seven million pairs in 2025, with prices ranging from £269 to £469.
The wider smart glasses market grew 167% year-on-year in the first quarter, according to IDC data, with Meta commanding nearly 70% of that market. Kylie Jenner also recently partnered with the firm — releasing new styles and features.
