Proposed bills eye privacy concerns raised by smart glasses
Lawmakers plan measures to curb facial recognition
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Lawmakers in more than a dozen states are preparing to introduce legislation next year to address privacy concerns raised by smart glasses and other wearable devices.
The nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has been sharing model legislation with lawmakers that would bar wearables from using technologies such as facial recognition to identify anyone other than the user.
Ilana Beller, Public Citizen's director of state AI governance and tech policy, told Pluribus News that legislators in 14 states have said they will sponsor legislation on the topic in 2027, and three others are "likely" to do so. Beller, who did not share which states because bills have yet to be introduced, said the lawmakers are a mix of Democrats and Republicans in blue, red and purple states throughout the country.
The growing popularity of wearable technology combined with developments in artificial intelligence has heightened concerns about privacy in both private and public settings.
"Integrating biometric identification technology into wearable devices like smart glasses is like offering every person their own private mass surveillance device," Beller said.
The push for state biometric privacy laws comes as the wearable technology market is forecast to grow from $93 billion last year to $230 billion by 2033.
At least half a dozen states have enacted neural data privacy laws in the past two years to protect users of wearable technology that captures brain waves.
Public Citizen's model bill focuses on protecting the privacy of people who might encounter a wearables user. It seeks to ensure that someone's biological, physical or behavioral characteristics are not used to identify people the wearer encounters.
A Public Citizen memo on the topic points to reporting in the New York Times in February that said Meta was planning to incorporate facial recognition technology into its smart glasses, perhaps as early as this year.
Wired reported in June that it had detected an "unreleased face-recognition system" in Meta's AI app that, if enabled, could allow smart glasses users to identify individuals based on faceprints stored on their phone.
A Meta spokesperson said in an email to Pluribus News the company is "exploring these types of features as people regularly express interest in seeing them."
"Nothing has shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything," the statement said. "If we do decide to roll something out, we will take a thoughtful approach and do so with full transparency. One decision we can be clear about -- we are not building a central face database."
Smart glasses, with features such as audio and video recording, heads-up displays and live AI chat, represent a fast-growing segment of the wearable technology market. Global shipments of smart glasses grew 139% year-over-year in the second half of 2025, with AI-equipped glasses accounting for 88% of shipments, according to Counterpoint Research.
Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley brand smart glasses -- marketed as "regular-looking eyewear with discreetly integrated glasses technology" -- account for 82% of the market, the Counterpoint analysis found.
States have already begun regulating smart glasses.
Louisiana enacted a law this year that requires smart glasses wearers to notify participants in a direct conversation that they are recording or transcribing, with certain exceptions.
"This small change in our law is an important first step in clarifying what people in our state should reasonably expect during in-person conversations," Republican Rep. Laurie Schlegel, the bill sponsor, told Pluribus News in March.
A Pennsylvania House committee unanimously approved a bill this month that would require smart glasses to have an indicator light that is visible to non-users so that they know when the glasses are recording. Similar legislation was introduced in New Jersey.
Pennsylvania's bill was recently amended to also prohibit devices from using a non-user's biometric data for identification purposes.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, vetoed a smart glasses indicator light bill this year, citing broad and imprecise definitions that his veto message said "could lead to significant confusion and unintended consequences."
Business and tech groups opposed the bill. The Computer & Communications Industry Association warned that it could result in criminal and civil liability for manufacturers and retailers.
In a statement to Pluribus News, Aden Hizkias, associate policy director at the Chamber of Progress, a tech policy coalition, cautioned that lawmakers should protect beneficial uses of wearable technology while also addressing "genuine privacy risks."
"Facial recognition that identifies people nearby without their knowledge raises real privacy concerns," Hizkias said. "But there's a big difference between mass surveillance and helping someone who is blind recognize a friend who has agreed to be identified."
Meta touts smart glasses technology as a way to assist people with vision impairment.
The model bill from Public Citizen does not make exemptions for technology aimed at people with disabilities. Beller said she expects lawmakers "will make changes as needed to fit the concerns of their state."
Public Citizen's memo describes a future in which individuals with "wearable surveillance devices," or WSDs, engage in mass surveillance and erase people's ability to be anonymous in public. The memo warns that the devices could be used by stalkers and abusers, and to target people for their political views.
"Right now, policymakers have a short window to stop WSDs before they become a part of everyday life," the memo said.