Safeguarding minister Satvir Kaur told the House of Commons that the UK government is examining a smart glasses ban in certain settings and a restriction on sales to certain users, amid concerns the technology is being used to secretly film women.

What the minister told the Commons

Kaur said filming with smart glasses already risks breaking the law in certain settings, pointing to courts where cameras are prohibited. She added that other places are not without rules either.

• •Healthcare and education settings have existing safeguarding or professional policies that apply to smart glasses and digital recording.
• •NHS England and the Department for Education are currently looking into wearable technology in certain settings.

Why the debate was called

Wednesday's debate was held by Liberal Democrat MP Anna Sabine, a culture spokesperson for the party. She said women are reporting waking up after nights out to find videos of themselves have gone viral online, filmed without their knowledge or consent.

Sabine told the Commons the devices not only have the potential to erode safety and privacy in public spaces, but raise really important questions about consent. She said advertisers promote the glasses as a way to film discreetly, and warned she did not want parliamentarians to only regulate once it is too late.

Benefits and a political example

Kaur also set out the other side of the technology. Smart glasses with built-in cameras, microphones and displays can be hugely beneficial, she said. "For example, for those that are visually impaired, smart glasses have been a gamechanger, helping them navigate the world around them."

One politician has already made the devices part of his public work. Reform UK Senedd member Jason O'Connell, MS for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, read a speech from an in-built teleprompter feature in his glasses in the debating chamber last month and defended the practice. He told the BBC's Politics Wales:

NHS England and the Department for Education are continuing to look into wearable technology in certain settings, while the government examines its options on restricting smart glasses.