EDPB publishes statement on the data protection challenges of smart glasses
The European Data Protection Board has adopted a formal statement on smart glasses, accompanied by a report examining how the devices affect personal data protection, privacy rights, and surveillance. The move reflects growing concern among EU regulators as smart glasses become more common consumer products.
Why this matters: Smart glasses are the first mass-market device that makes it nearly impossible for bystanders to know they are being recorded. That changes something basic about being in public. Unlike a phone camera, glasses look passive. The person across from you at a café, on the train, or at a protest has no reliable way to know their face, voice, or movements are being captured. The EDPB is right to treat this as a distinct problem. Ordinary data protection rules were not written with always-on, body-worn cameras in mind.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · AI governance · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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