Instagram tightens rules against surreptitious smart-glasses recordings

The tougher line is already producing consequences: As Meta confirmed to Business Insider, two high-reach accounts were deactivated that had regularly filmed women in public without their consent. According to statistics, both accounts are said to have had more than one million followers each. Instagram told the magazine that the bans were imposed because of harassment videos recorded with Meta glasses.

Also known in Germany

The incidents are not a US-specific phenomenon. Cases have also become known in Germany in which men surreptitiously filmed women they were approaching using smart glasses. The footage was then distributed on social media platforms. The industry is thus responding to a phenomenon that in the English-speaking world has already produced nicknames such as "Pervert Glasses" — a comparison that recalls the earlier stigmatization of Google Glass.

Alongside the platform measures, Meta is working on technical safeguards. Meta's smart glasses feature a small white LED that is supposed to light up during recording in order to inform bystanders. However, this indicator is often barely visible in daylight, and on older models the LED can be covered over or drilled out. As futurezone reported, instructions and services for disabling the light are circulating online.

Technical upgrade at Meta

Meta has now announced a software update intended to prevent the glasses from continuing to record if the recording LED has been covered or tampered with. Against providers offering such modifications, the company says it intends to act "aggressively" and, if necessary, to consider legal action, as the company told US journalist Joanna Stern. Stern had previously reported on a seller on Facebook Marketplace who removed the LEDs from the glasses for cash.

Meta's terms of use already require that consent from third parties be obtained and that applicable law be complied with. In practice, however, videos circulating on social media have shown that those affected often do not notice the recording LED at all. A spot check by futurezone also found that, even after the announcement, Instagram search continues to surface a large number of such videos.

Criticism and open questions

Additional attention has been drawn by an advertising campaign that Meta developed together with US influencer Kylie Jenner and that is aimed specifically at women. The campaign met with criticism on social media. Singer Lorde also spoke out against it during a festival appearance, calling the glasses "nicht sexy". Observers compare the stigma currently surrounding smart glasses with the one that once befell Google Glass.

According to Engadget, the announcement has already sparked discussions about how the protective mechanisms can be circumvented through so-called jailbreaking. It also remains unclear whether the account bans will be extended to other Meta platforms such as Facebook. What is clear, however, is that Instagram wants to increase the pressure on the operators of such formats. "Wir wollen nicht, dass Leute heimlich Videos von anderen aufnehmen, sie belästigen und diese dann auf unserer Plattform veröffentlichen. Deshalb versuchen wir, dem mit allen Mitteln entgegenzuwirken", Mosseri said.