His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service announced that Meta smart glasses will be prohibited in all criminal, civil, and family court buildings across England and Wales. Anyone attempting to bring the glasses into judicial facilities will have them confiscated upon entry and returned when they leave. The service cited existing restrictions on image and video recording within court buildings, noting that the prohibition applies equally to smart glasses despite smartphones being permitted under the condition they are not used to record proceedings.
The policy follows a similar ban implemented by New York’s court system last month, which stated that smart glasses would not be allowed in unified court system facilities unless deposited with security personnel. Earlier this year, a high court judge accused a claimant of wearing smart glasses during testimony to receive coaching through the device, though the individual denied the glasses were connected to his phone or being used to receive answers.
Meta smart glasses have generated substantial controversy surrounding privacy and surveillance concerns. The devices, which cost between £269 and £469, can record video while being worn by the user. Several restaurants, theaters, and pubs in the United Kingdom, including Wetherspoons, have implemented their own bans due to fears the glasses could be used to film people without consent, leading to informal descriptions of the technology as invasive. Meta reported selling 7 million pairs of the glasses during a recent period.
Meta stated that the glasses display a visible pulsing light when recording to alert people nearby, and the company has deployed tamper detection technology designed to prevent users from obscuring this indicator. A Meta representative declined to provide additional comment regarding the court ban. The company did not respond to broader concerns about the glasses’ use in public spaces.
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