Are smart glasses spying on you? Privacy concerns grow in Massachusetts

Are you being recorded when you don't know it? The arrest of a registered sex offender on the Boston Common is shining a light on potential dangers of camera-equipped smart glasses. From privacy to cheating concerns, we want to take a closer look at the popular technology that's raising a lot of red flags in our area right now. Whoa! That is a lot of frames. Meta's popular AI glasses are capable of live translation. Hands-free texting, smart navigation, even assisting people with visual impairment. You could just give me a spot check to see if I missed anything. Yes, I'm taking a look. You look amazing. It looks perfect. Where fans see the future. I think my glasses are pretty cool and I want to see what happens with that. Others see a privacy risk. Yeah, I would say that's pretty concerning. Places where maybe you deserve some privacy, even in a locker room, like who knows? How would you know? Even if we are in a public space. We still expect some level of Privacy of anonymity. Kate Crockford with the ACLU warns users could be breaking Massachusetts law, which prohibits secretly recording conversations and certain intimate images. These technologies can strip that anonymity and privacy in an instant. Smart glasses can be easy to miss at first glance. They typically include a wider frame with a small lens in the upper front corner. Some manufacturers, including Meta, display an LED light when the camera is on. But is that enough? What is considered as a consent? Is it enough if we are just aware that you are being recorded? Northeastern University professor Anjan Raghunathan also questions what happens to the data these devices collect. Where does it go? Is it actually on the device? Who has access to these recordings? A proposed class action lawsuit against Meta in California alleges some of the most private moments captured by those glasses was being reviewed by thousands of overseas human contractors without your knowledge. Meta says it disagrees with the allegations and will fight them. Here in our state, legal issues this summer. A registered sex offender charged with using camera-equipped sunglasses to record children being changed at Boston Common's Frog Pond Playground. The ACLU raises concerns about what's next. You should not be able to pull up all sorts of sensitive information about me simply by looking at me. The ACLU claims Meta is poised to add facial recognition technology to its AI glasses That could covertly identify people around them, at a protest or a medical clinic, on the subway or at a playground. Meta acknowledges it is exploring the technology, but tells Boston 25 nothing has shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything. I don't think we have a policy ready for this. Some Massachusetts schools are making policies of their own, restricting use of glasses in the classroom. Cambridge schools banned smart glasses over AI-assisted cheating and privacy concerns. Boston and Worcester schools are considering the same. I think probably there's a concern for parents about safety, privacy, and, you know, just educational expectations and rigor without utilizing outside devices. Others question if it's really all that different. And the cameras already all around us feel like if we're being honest, we're constantly being recorded often. Anyways, imagine how many people's phones that you're in and you don't even know. On Beacon Hill, House and Senate lawmakers are working on a compromise consumer privacy bill that could impact smart glasses. We'll stay on top of any changes for you.