Overview
- Prosecutors in Paris have opened preliminary criminal investigations after multiple formal complaints alleging that women were filmed without consent with camera‑equipped smart glasses and the footage was posted online.
- French law treats non‑consensual filming and online publication as a crime that can carry up to two years in prison and fines up to €45,000, and some cases are also being probed as sexual coercion.
- The child and youth protection group E‑Enfance has filed dozens of reports and says the visible cases are likely only a fraction of material circulated in social‑media accounts and forums that share tactics for covert recording.
- Technical measures exist, such as device recording LEDs and apps like Nearby Glasses that scan Bluetooth signals, but reporting and developers say these tools give false positives and do not reliably prevent misuse.
- Local authorities and lawmakers in France and Germany are debating targeted bans in places like municipal pools and transit along with stronger platform enforcement while stressing exemptions for legitimate assistive uses.