{"slug": "smart-glass-users-face-criminal-penalties-for-filming-people-lawyers-warn", "title": "Smart glass users face criminal penalties for filming people, lawyers warn", "summary": "Australians using smart glasses to film people without consent could face criminal penalties and civil lawsuits, lawyers warn. Shine Lawyers chief legal officer Lisa Flynn said consequences may include criminal penalties under surveillance or recording laws and civil claims for privacy-related harms. Research by the University of Sydney's Governing Immersive Tech Project found about 60% of covert point-of-view videos analyzed showed behavior classified as potential harassment.", "body_md": "# Smart glass users face criminal penalties for filming people, lawyers warn\n\n**By Tia Clarkson-Pascoe**\n\nAustralians using smart glasses to film people could face criminal penalties and civil lawsuits, lawyers have warned.\n\nShine Lawyers chief legal officer Lisa Flynn said using smart glasses to record people without their consent could result in legal consequences.\n\n“Depending on the circumstances and jurisdiction, these may include criminal penalties under surveillance or recording laws, as well as civil claims arising from the misuse of private information or other privacy-related harms,” Flynn said.\n\n“As wearable technology becomes more common, courts are likely to be asked with increasing frequency to consider the liability of individuals who misuse these devices and the remedies available to those affected.”\n\nThis month Kmart’s $89 alternative to Meta AI glasses, which typically cost between $300 and $700, sold out, prompting concerns the convenient and hands-free recording devices could pose a privacy risk if laws didn’t keep up.\n\nThe University of Sydney’s Governing Immersive Tech Project team analysed the growing trend of “ambient capture” in which men secretly record women in everyday settings using smart glasses and distribute the footage online for audience engagement.\n\nOne TikTok account has videos of women from a man’s perspective as he approaches them, trying to get their phone number or Instagram handle, and often involves him making comments about their physical appearance.\n\nGoverning Immersive Tech Project research found about 60% of covert point-of-view videos analysed showed behaviour classified as potential harassment, with many women showing discomfort or refusal.\n\nIn 43% of the Instagram videos analysed, individuals were further exposed to derogatory commentary and some were identified or doxxed.\n\nGoverning Immersive Tech Project chief investigator Benjamin Egliston said despite these glasses serving a purpose for people with disabilities, they posed a risk when used inappropriately.\n\n“I get that there is a benefit for a specific community but I think we do need to be quite careful and think about what the trade-off is,” he told The Australian.\n\nDr Egliston said the team analysed 350 videos linked to pick-up artist communities and found some of the women were filmed at work, the gym or in swimwear at the beach, prompting concerns places assumed to be private or semi-private might now be at risk.\n\nMost of the women were unaware they were being filmed because smart glasses were designed to blend in and not be identifiable, Dr Egliston said. “While there is a light on the device, I don’t think that is sufficient because, one, it can be covered over and, two, it can be modified,” he said.\n\n**New forms of harassment**\n\nThe research warns smart glasses could enable new forms of online harassment and gender-based harms that might not be recognised by current online safety or platform governance frameworks.\n\nSlater and Gordon Lawyers senior practice leader, public liability Jackson Pannam said while the technology was new, “the privacy and safety issues are not”.\n\n“Whether it’s a phone or smart glasses, people should not assume they can secretly record others without consequence. Depending on what is filmed and how it is used, covert recording can breach surveillance, privacy, harassment or stalking laws,” he said.\n\n“If a matter did reach court, the device is secondary. The focus would be on the behaviour, any pattern of targeting or harassment, and the harm caused to the person in the video.”\n\nPannam said people should seek help if they believed they had been filmed without their consent.\n\n“If you’re worried you’ve been filmed without your consent and posted online, act quickly. Save screenshots and links, report the content to the platform and ask for it to be taken down and seek legal advice. If you feel unsafe or targeted, speak to the police.”\n\nFederal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said earlier this month that she had written to the Privacy Commissioner over the potential privacy implications and concerns raised by the community about the growing uptake of smart glasses.\n\n“Privacy is an essential part of all our lives; it allows us to be who we are with dignity and without fear,” she said.\n\n“That’s why the Albanese government has written to the Privacy Commissioner, raising widespread community concerns about the potential impacts of smart glasses, particularly for women and children.”\n\nRowland said “unlike other forms of technology, smart glasses may be used more discreetly, making it harder to know when you are being recorded”, and asked the issue be given priority consideration.\n\nTeach Us Consent chief executive and founder Chanel Contos said the Digital Duty of Care set up by the federal government needed to regulate wearable technology as soon as possible.\n\n“At best, smart glasses normalise filming and sharing people without their consent, feeding algorithms designed to reward voyeuristic, rage-baiting content. At worst, they are used as a tool for the sexual exploitation of children, women and other vulnerable groups,” she said.\n\n*This article first appeared in The Australian as **Smart glass users face criminal penalties for filming people, top lawyers warn.*\n\n## Related Topics\n\n### UNLOCK INSIGHTS\n\nDiscover the untold stories of emerging ASX stocks.\n\nDaily news and expert analysis, it's free to subscribe.\n\nBy proceeding, you confirm you understand that we handle personal information in accordance with our\n[Privacy Policy](https://stockhead.com.au/privacy-policy/).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/smart-glass-users-face-criminal-penalties-for-filming-people-lawyers-warn", "canonical_source": "https://stockhead.com.au/tech/smart-glass-users-face-criminal-penalties-for-filming-people-lawyers-warn/", "published_at": "2026-08-17 02:10:57+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-17 02:41:56.873255+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-products", "ai-ethics", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Shine Lawyers", "Lisa Flynn", "Kmart", "Meta", "University of Sydney", "Governing Immersive Tech Project", "Benjamin Egliston", "Slater and Gordon Lawyers"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/smart-glass-users-face-criminal-penalties-for-filming-people-lawyers-warn", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/smart-glass-users-face-criminal-penalties-for-filming-people-lawyers-warn.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/smart-glass-users-face-criminal-penalties-for-filming-people-lawyers-warn.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/smart-glass-users-face-criminal-penalties-for-filming-people-lawyers-warn.jsonld"}}