Paris Just Opened a Criminal Probe Into Smart Glasses Men Use to Secretly Film Women on the Street

Paris prosecutors have opened a criminal inquiry into men using smart glasses to film women on the street without consent.

The office has not named a brand, a suspect, or how many complaints came in, and it did not name a company either, Silicon Republic reported. The case is a harassment inquiry, still short of a product ban or a verdict.

The pattern is familiar on Paris pavement: men in camera glasses walk up to women, film without asking, and upload the clips. Nobody has been publicly identified.

The legal gap is Article 226-1 of the French Penal Code. It carries up to one year in prison and a 45,000 euro fine for recording someone without consent, but it covers private places, not the street. A sidewalk filming case may need a harassment charge if that article does not fit.

France's privacy regulator, the CNIL, ran a separate track in June. It warned that cameras and microphones in ordinary-looking eyewear can capture people almost invisibly. The CNIL told Reuters it had received fewer than 10 workplace complaints so far, plus company questions about banning the glasses on premises.

Nacera Bekhat, who handles economic matters at the CNIL, said the devices pose "real challenges" in telling people they are filmed and in getting consent. Ines Legendre, a legal expert at e-Enfance, said an indicator light is not consent to be filmed or to have the image sent on to thousands of people. Ines Girard, a researcher at the Center Hubertine Auclert, said the vigilance burden should not sit on the people being surveilled.

Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, made with EssilorLuxottica, hold about 76 percent of that market. EssilorLuxottica sold about 7 million units the prior year. Since June, Meta has updated the glasses so recording stops when the indicator light is blocked. A Meta representative told Reuters privacy is built into the AI glasses.

France is not acting alone. HateAid in Germany filed a criminal complaint last month, and Australia's finance minister, Katy Gallagher, asked the public service commission about workplace bans. The UK Information Commissioner's Office has been investigating since March, and the European Data Protection Board plans a review with national authorities. Meta Connect is on 23 September, where the next generation of the glasses is expected.

The same privacy fight already showed up when Meta's AI product started asking kids invasive questions. An LED on the frame does not close the street-filming case in Paris.

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