Aussies are being urged to watch out for an LED light on the side of glasses as a new product puts everyone at risk of being recorded without their permission.
Kmart’s new $89 dupe of Meta AI smart glasses (which start at $469) sold out almost immediately after its release, sparking widespread privacy concerns.
The glasses, which are also sold at Target as part of Kmart’s Anko range, resemble an ordinary pair of glasses but feature a built-in camera capable of taking photos and recording videos.
The ability to discreetly record with the glasses means people nearby may not know when they are being recorded or where the material will be shared.
It is an alarming reality, justice reform advocate and victim of sexual violence, Sarah Rosenberg, told Yahoo News.
Kmart’s Anko Camera Glasses, left, sold out after their release. The product is a budget version of the Meta AI Ray-Ban smart glasses (right). Source: Target/Meta
Offering this kind of technology at such an affordable price, “incentivises surveillance tech”, the Executive Director of the victim-survivor-led organisation With You We Can, said.
Without a justice system prepared to protect Australians from potential abuse, she argues it will lead to widespread paranoia as Australians are left to their own devices to maintain their privacy.
“We’re making surveillance tech cheaper than a weekly grocery shop,” she said.
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Sarah, executive director of victim-survivor-led organisation With You We Can, is questioning why an everyday consumer would require camera glasses, and is concerned, given “men’s violence against women is one of Australia’s most urgent safety issues right now”.
“Technology facilitated abuse is already a growing feature of coercive control,” she added.
Statistics from the National Homicide Monitoring Program report that, on average, one woman every 11 days is killed by an intimate partner or family member.
“So against this backdrop, making covert recording technology cheaper and more accessible deserves really careful scrutiny,” Sarah explained.
“No one needs this.”
Is the justice system prepared for smart glasses?
Even if camera glasses are “the most well-intended technology,” Sarah emphasises it requires laws, policing, and the justice system to keep pace with how it can be misused.
It’s not enough to leave it up to the general public to use responsibly, especially as the justice system is already overwhelmed and struggling to keep up with tech-facilitative abuse as technology advances in the country, Sarah said.
While the glasses have a light that turns on to notify others when the camera is in use, people have figured out how to disable this safety feature.
Ray-Ban and Meta collaborated to create an ultra-sleek product which hardly differs from regular glasses. Source: Ray-Ban Meta
It’s up to retailers, technology companies, police, and governments to consider “foreseeable misuse, not just its intended use”, Sarah suggested.
“We shouldn’t be waiting for widespread harm before acting. We should be investing now in capability, forensic expertise, legal reform, and public education.
“Innovation is great, but innovation shouldn’t outpace safety.
“Safety should be part of the technology design, not an afterthought once abuse has already occurred.”
Sarah worries victims will soon find themselves in the position of having to prove fake material of them isn’t real, while also proving genuine evidence hasn’t been manipulated by AI.
“It’s an extraordinary burden to bear.”
In recent years, more survivors have come forward to report sexual violence to police. However, Sarah said reporting rates remain affected by misconceptions, concerns and mistrust of the justice system — a trend she worries will worsen with increased access to certain technology.
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