Men in France are secretly filming women with camera-equipped smart glasses and posting the footage online for money, prompting several investigations by Paris prosecutors.
The trend, which FRANCE 24 reports first started in the US and is becoming increasingly prevalent in France, involves men approaching women in public while wearing glasses with cameras concealed in their frames. The women may not realise they are being recorded during the interaction.
Paris prosecutors have opened several investigations after complaints concerning women filmed on the street without their consent using smart glasses, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hidden Cameras Capture Harassment
The glasses featured in the FRANCE 24 report contain a camera hidden in the frame, allowing the wearer to record an interaction without the person being filmed realising it.
The discreet nature of the technology is a key concern for privacy campaigners. Unlike someone visibly holding up a phone or camera, a person wearing smart glasses can appear to be having an ordinary conversation while recording the interaction at the same time.
One man featured in the report repeatedly approaches women using a similar tactic, asking personal questions designed to embarrass them when the encounters are posted online.
During one encounter, he tells a woman, 'I'm here because I want you,' before later saying, 'You're my little kitten.'
Another woman featured in the report did not realise she was being recorded. She later reported the man to police.
'I felt like I'd been tricked. I was shocked. Like he had betrayed my confidence,' she said. 'I don't want my family to find this video.'
The report says the men involved are earning money by posting the videos online without the consent of the women filmed.
That combination of concealed recording and online monetisation has added to concerns about how wearable technology could be used to create and distribute footage of people without their knowledge.
Paris Investigations Underway
The growing use of smart glasses has drawn scrutiny from French authorities and privacy rights groups.
AFP reported that the Paris public prosecutor's office had received complaints concerning violations of privacy linked to the use of smart glasses and had opened several investigations. Prosecutors also pointed to a growing social media trend involving women being filmed on the street without their consent and the footage being published online.
The FRANCE 24 report also highlights the growing popularity of connected glasses, saying more people are wearing them and that this type of content can generate money online.
Rights groups are calling for the recording indicator on smart glasses to be made more visible. At present, a small flashing light is the main indication that the glasses are recording.
'If the person wearing glasses is far away, you can't tell that they can film,' one commentator told FRANCE 24, describing the practice as 'an intrusion into a person's privacy'.
France Has Rules Against Secret Filming
FRANCE 24 reports that, in France, filming a person without their consent and posting their images online is a crime punishable by up to two years in prison. AFP separately reported that prosecutors said the offence can carry a maximum two-year prison sentence and a €45,000 (£38,718) fine.
The cases illustrate a growing challenge for privacy as cameras become embedded in everyday wearable devices: people may be unaware that an apparently ordinary interaction is being recorded and subsequently shared online.
