A 25-year-old woman was secretly filmed on a Copenhagen street by a man wearing Meta’s AI glasses, and the video was later posted on social media. Several parties in the Danish parliament now want the glasses banned in public spaces.
The woman, identified only as Mathilde, was stopped on the street by a man who complimented her and asked for her number. DR reports that she woke up three weeks later to find a video of the encounter on several platforms. Within seven hours it had close to 300,000 views, and friends began contacting her.
According to DR, the man was a so-called pickup artist wearing Meta’s AI glasses, which can film while also running artificial intelligence features. The glasses sell in Denmark for around 3,500 kroner. DR knows the woman’s full name but left out her surname to make the videos harder to find.
Mathilde told DR she did not notice the glasses and considers the recording a violation of her privacy. After the man declined her request to remove the video, she went to the police. Officers said the material did not involve personally sensitive information, so she could not file a report. DR has asked Copenhagen Police for a comment and had not received a response.
Parties call for a ban
Enhedslisten wants the use of Meta’s glasses banned outright. The party’s legal affairs spokesperson, Eva Flyvholm, said the core problem is that people cannot tell whether they are being recorded in public. In DR’s political coverage, she added that nobody should fear being filmed in changing rooms or swimming pools, and that some form of consent is needed.
The case has been picked up internationally. Anadolu Agency reported on August 17 that the Red-Green Alliance is seeking a ban over privacy and consent concerns, citing DR’s reporting.
Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen of the Social Democrats responded in a written comment to DR. He called it deeply reprehensible to record conversations and publish videos without people’s knowledge. He said he will invite Forbrugerrådet Tænk to a meeting on how best to protect Danes.
Weeks of criticism
The debate has intensified in recent weeks. Datatilsynet and Forbrugerrådet Tænk have both criticized the AI glasses for infringing on privacy. In earlier coverage, DR noted that critics have labeled the product stalker glasses and surveillance glasses.
TV 2 reported that Forbrugerrådet Tænk and the NGO Digitalt Ansvar warn it is largely invisible when someone is filming. Politiken reported that the magazines Euroman and Eurowoman dropped a campaign for the glasses after a backlash. Influencers Sus Wilkins and Cecilie Haugaard have since deleted their advertising posts on Instagram.
