Mark Zuckerberg’s Court Appearance Proves Smart Glasses are Problematic

Arriving at a social media addiction trial in Los Angeles last week, Mark Zuckerberg and his legal team were donning stylish Meta Ray-Bans. The one problem? You’re not allowed to wear smart glasses in court.

The judge “upbraided the Meta team”, according to tech journalist Jacob Ward, who was in the courtroom at the time. He called it “an extraordinary misstep”.

But not everyone was convinced it was a mistake: SFGate called it “supremely odd product placement” while Gizmodo reckons Zuckerberg figured there’s “no such thing as bad press”.

Judge Carolyn Kuhl warned the Los Angeles Superior Court last week that anyone recording proceedings will be held in contempt of court. “If you have done that, you must delete that, or you will be held in contempt of the court,” the judge said. “This is very serious.”

Photography is generally banned in L.A. County’s Superior Court. “Judicial officers have the discretion to place limitations on video recording and photography in their courtroom,” a court spokesperson tells CBS News.

The Rise of Spying Spectacles

Whether it was a stunt or not, the admonishment by the judge shows the fundamental issue with smart glasses: nobody is sure whether they’re recording or not.

A blinking light is supposed to signal that they’re recording but type in “light Meta Ray-Bans” into Google and the first thing that comes up is videos of people showing exactly how to circumvent the required light.

As smart glasses — largely driven by Meta Ray-Bans — have grown in popularity, the unsuspecting public is beginning to notice and institutions are beginning to act.

The College Board recently banned the wearable tech when students are taking SATs and Gizmodo reports that cruise liner company Royal Caribbean recently banned the glasses from certain parts of its ships. The U.S. Air Force also banned personnel from wearing smart glasses that have “photo, video, or artificial intelligence capabilities” while in uniform.

For the most part, the public doesn’t yet appear to be fully aware of smart glasses, but some are starting to fall victim. A woman named Oonagh from the U.K. was filmed by a man without her knowledge and consent. The interaction of the man asking for her phone number was published to TikTok, where it received at least one million views. Oonagh was sent the video and says she became panicked as she read the comments — many of which were abusive.