People will need to surrender their devices for safekeeping before they’re allowed in court.
Meta
New York wants to make sure that no one can surreptitiously record court proceedings using smart glasses. Starting July 20, all courts in New York state will formally ban smart glasses on their premises. This applies to New York’s 1,240 state, county, city, town and village courts. According to local publication Syracuse, signs announcing the ban were posted last week on the doors of the Honorable James C. Torney III Criminal Courthouse.
The ban prohibits all forms of eyewear and headwear equipped with cameras and microphones inside all Unified Court System services. Even smart glasses with prescription lenses are included, and the signs being posted on courthouses ask people to bring a regular pair of glasses to use while inside. While some courts in other states, such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, already don’t allow smart glasses on their premises, New York is the first state to issue a blanket ban.
Why did the state ban smart glasses in court?
Recording is generally not permitted in courts, and the New York State Unified Court System’s rules explicitly state that “taking photographs, films or videotapes, or audiotaping, broadcasting or telecasting, in a courthouse including any courtroom, office or hallway thereof, at any time or on any occasion, whether or not the court is in session, is forbidden.”
Smart glasses could allow someone to record in a discreet way, since there is no need to hold a camera or phone to start taking a video. While they do have lights that turn on and blink to indicate recording, users can disable them or have them removed by a modder for a fee.
One high-profile instance that brought attention to the use of smart glasses in court occurred in February, when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a jury trial over social media addiction. Members of his team were wearing Meta Ray-Ban glasses as they escorted him inside, prompting the judge to issue a warning not to record courtroom proceedings with the devices. While it wasn’t clear if any of them had used their glasses in court before the warning, the judge was reportedly concerned about the jurors being recorded and identified.
Smart glasses by Meta can’t take photos or videos if the app’s software detects that its capture LED is covered. The company is also rolling out an update that will disable the camera if its software detects that the capture LED has been physically tampered with or destroyed.
How will the ban be enforced?
It doesn’t matter if the person gets their glasses modified, because New York’s courts won’t even allow them to bring their devices inside. People wearing them will need to leave them with uniformed court officers before being allowed inside a building, even if they’re attorneys or staff members.
More smart glasses restrictions
Earlier this year, Royal Caribbean cruise line banned smart glasses in certain areas onboard, including public restrooms, youth program areas, medical facilities, and casinos. MSC Cruises issued a partial ban for the devices last year, citing privacy concerns. Illinois lawmakers are also considering adding smart glasses to the list of prohibited devices for drivers as part of their effort to curb distracted driving. We’ll likely see more places place restrictions on the devices as concerns about their capacity to record video and photos discreetly continue to grow.
