Meta glasses banned from courts in England and Wales over recording fears

Courts in England and Wales have joined a number of restaurants, theatres and pubs in banning Meta glasses, amid a mounting backlash against what has been described as “spyware”.

Last month courts in New York announced a ban on the controversial glasses, which can record video footage while being worn.

Now His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), which is responsible for all criminal, civil and family courts in England and Wales, has made clear that Meta glasses will be confiscated from anyone entering its judicial buildings.

A spokesperson told the Guardian: “There are clear restrictions on taking images or videos within courts and tribunals which is why the use of Meta glasses is prohibited.”

Taking images or videos in court buildings is prohibited in the UK without official permission and can be prosecuted as contempt of court. While lawyers and members of the public are allowed to enter courts with smartphones, which can record both video and audio, the

HMCTS made clear that no such exception would be made for smart glasses.

A source said: “Users who bring Meta glasses into courts or tribunals will have them confiscated on entry and they will be returned when the owner leaves the building.”

They said smartphones were allowed on the condition they would not be used for recording court procedures.

Earlier this year, a claimant was accused by a judge of wearing smart glasses in the high court and getting “coaching” through them while giving evidence.

Laimonas Jakštys was told to remove the glasses during a case over the directorship of a property company. Raquel Agnello KC, sitting as a judge of the high court, said Jakštys had been “assisted or coached in his replies to questions put to him during cross examination”. Jakstys denied using the smart glasses to receive answers, and denied they were connected to his phone.

HMCTS does not hold figures on the number of incidents of smart glasses being used or taken into courts.

In February, members of the security team for Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, were seen wearing Meta glasses during a high-profile trial in California about social media addiction.

The judge, Carolyn B Kuhl, threatened the security guards with contempt of court if they had recorded any of the proceedings.

New York’s court system said it was banning smart glasses to ensure “individuals cannot surreptitiously record court proceedings”. It added: “No individual possessing smart glasses will be permitted to enter a UCS [unified court system] facility unless they voucher the smart glasses for safekeeping by uniformed personnel while the individual remains in the facility.”

Last year Meta sold 7m pairs of the glasses, which cost between £269 and £469.

Fears about Meta glasses being used to film people, especially women, without their consent has led to them being labelled “pervert glasses”. A number of restaurants, theatres and pubs in the UK, including Wetherspoons, have banned Meta glasses over privacy fears.

A spokesperson for Meta said the company did not want to comment on the court ban. They said when the glasses were recording a pulsing light was visible to people in the vicinity, and that frequently updated tamper detection technology is deployed to stop users covering this light during recordings.