The Stop Smart Glasses campaign is gathering momentum and, with the support of the Mumsnet community, we believe we can stop the mass roll out of so-called ‘Smart Glasses’ by reckless companies like Meta.
Smart Glasses are data-scraping, covert recording devices that are already facilitating the harassment of women, girls, children and other vulnerable groups.
These devices hand paedophiles, sex offenders and predatory men a powerful new tool. They can film women and children without their knowledge, and could make stalking, abduction and violent attacks much easier to carry out. We should not have to wait for more serious harm before the government acts.
Women are being filmed without their consent and the footage used for ‘likes’ on social media platforms. Cases of blackmail have been reported, where the perpetrator demands money off the woman to take the post down.
Children are being bullied and humiliated by other children wearing these devices, the footage being shared on TikTok. Young boys’ minds are being polluted at an impressionable age by the toxic male influencers they see online who are not just getting away with it, but are rewarded with fame and money for disrespecting women.
This trend is deeply worrying. It could shape how boys understand consent, and the kind of men they grow into. Girls deserve better than this. Boys deserve better than this.
The homeless and mentally unstable are also being provoked and filmed, livestreamed for the sick ‘entertainment’ of others.
Meta claims that a light in the frames means that we consent to this happening. That is both ridiculous and outrageous but, if we don’t stand up now, it is just the beginning. We need to show these companies and the Government that we do not consent to this.
We are asking all Mumsnet users to visit our website www.stopsmartglasses.com and take three actions:
1: Sign our petition calling for an immediate ban on the sale of these devices. We have already passed the required 10,000 signatures for a government response but want at least 100,000, so that we can force a debate in parliament and demonstrate that, as a society, as concerned parents, we do not consent to this.
2: Use our letter template to write to your local MP asking them to take action. It’s vital that more MPs around the country are made aware of your concerns, because not enough is being done by them to protect women and children from these devices. If you don’t tell them, they may not realise how worried you are.
3: Use our letter template to write to a local stockist, requesting they stop selling them. We are particularly interested in targeting Boots and John Lewis, who proclaim their support for ending Violence Against Women and Girls.
Once you sign the petition, please share it online and in WhatsApp groups. This can gain serious traction if more people power gets behind it. Or rather, ‘parent power’.
As working parents ourselves, we appreciate how busy life is. We don’t wish to add to it but think this issue is too important to ignore. The above actions will take no longer than 10 minutes. Will you join us in taking action and making your voice heard?
For more information on the campaign, including the need for an exemption for genuine wearable assistive technology for the blind and severely visually impaired, please explore our website.
Thank you for reading this and for your support! We do not consent to this, for us and, most importantly, our children. We must act now to stop it.