Wetherspoon bans Meta smart glasses across pubs
Wetherspoon has introduced a ban on the use of Meta smart glasses across its more than 800 pubs, citing concerns over customer and staff privacy.
Meta’s smart glasses offer a range of functions beyond photography and video, including music streaming, phone calls, text messaging and live translation
Under the new policy, customers wearing the camera-enabled glasses will be asked to switch off the camera function before entering a Wetherspoon venue.
The decision follows growing concerns around the ability of Meta smart glasses to capture photographs and video discreetly through built-in cameras.
Wetherspoon said that, while its pubs operate CCTV systems for security purposes under controlled conditions and data protection legislation, customers and employees should not otherwise be filmed without their permission.
A spokesperson for the pub group said the recording capabilities of Meta glasses appeared to conflict with the general expectations around privacy in pubs, describing the technology as enabling potentially covert surveillance.
The company compared its approach to its efforts to prevent customers from playing videos aloud in its pubs, saying both activities can intrude on other customers’ space.
Meta’s smart glasses offer a range of functions beyond photography and video, including music streaming, phone calls, text messaging and live translation.
Privacy concerns
The glasses have attracted increasing scrutiny over privacy concerns, particularly around the possibility of people being recorded without their knowledge or consent.
Meta has defended the technology, pointing to a small indicator light on the glasses that signals when the camera is recording.
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said Meta has also introduced measures designed to prevent users from disabling the recording indicator, following attempts by some users to remove or damage the light.
Meta has further said it will remove content used to harass people or secretly record them and has acknowledged concerns around the misuse of the technology.
The Wetherspoon decision comes as other hospitality and entertainment venues in the UK also introduce restrictions on Meta’s camera-enabled glasses, reflecting wider concerns over how wearable recording technology should be managed in public spaces.
For pubs and hospitality operators, the move highlights the growing challenge of balancing emerging wearable technology with customers’ expectations around privacy and consent.
