Metas pervert glasses fuel trend of creeps secretly filming women, posting videos online without consent: report

Creeps and wannabe pickup artists are reportedly using Meta’s “smart glasses” to record their come-ons to unsuspecting women and post the videos online — and privacy advocates warn the situation could get catastrophically worse if the glasses were equipped with facial recognition.A growing number of aspiring influencers are using the smart glasses to turn real-life encounters into content — prowling nightlife strips, shopping centers and city streets to film their unsolicited approaches to women, Wired reported.The videos follow a familiar script — a compliment, a pickup line, a push for a name or number — with the footage later blasted across TikTok and Instagram for views, often without the subject ever realizing she was on camera.The interactions can veer from awkward to aggressive, with women visibly rejecting advances while still being recorded.The clips have reportedly earned the tech the nickname “pervert glasses” while critics have branded the behavior outright “predatory”.Kassy Zanjani, a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, didn’t realize anything was off when a stranger struck up a casual conversation during a night out earlier this year — until a friend later sent her a viral video of the encounter that had racked up tens of thousands of views.“When I saw it, I was in shock and it definitely brought up a lot of anxiety,” Zanjani told CTV, adding that she felt “humiliated” by a clip she never consented to — one she believes was meant to “degrade women” for cheap viral clicks.More than 70 civil liberties and advocacy groups are now sounding the alarm, warning that Meta’s smart glasses could take the trend from creepy to outright dangerous if new features are rolled out.In a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the coalition urged the company to scrap plans for facial-recognition technology that would allow users to identify strangers in real time.“Our competitors offer this type of facial recognition produ...