Politician calls for clampdown on ‘perv goggle’ good glasses used to movie ladies
Liberal Democrat Max Wilkinson issued a stark warning about the ‘dodgy’ usage of tech-packed glasses at his party’s conference in Brighton
The MP in the glasses(Image: Gary Roberts Photography/Shutterstock)
Politicians are demanding a clampdown on creepy “perv goggle” smart glasses used to film and harass women before posting the “sick” videos online.
Liberal Democrat Max Wilkinson issued a stark warning about the “dodgy” usage of tech-packed glasses at his party’s conference in Brighton on Monday (September 21). He wants to see fresh legislation to clamp down on their misuse.
The MP said the specs, which feature a camera, are “more than a benign piece of tech that provides a bit of fun.” He said: “You may know them as, let’s be honest, as perv goggles… creep glasses… stalker specs…. The technology in these glasses could be a force for good. But it needs regulation.”
At the conference(Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
He added: “I don’t recommend doing it but you don’t need to look very hard on Instagram or TikTok to find these blokes who are wandering around late at night preying on women outside nightclubs.
“They are harassing them and the women do not know they are being filmed.” Mr Wilkinson urged tech bosses to crack down on the “stalker specs”.
He said: “On Instagram, well over half of content filmed with smart glasses features harassment. That is totally unacceptable. It is a sick way of going about business. The tech companies have got to deal with the issue that they have created.”
The glasses(Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In June last year, a young woman was approached by a man wearing sunglasses after she had been sunbathing in Brighton. Oonagh was asked her name, where she was from and if the man could have her number. She politely declined and said she had a boyfriend.
A video of the interaction was viewed millions of times online after it was posted without her consent. “I had no idea it was happening to me, I didn’t consent to that being posted, I didn’t consent to being secretly filmed,” Oonagh said. “It really freaked me out – it made me feel afraid to go out in public.”
Last week, criminal prosecutors in Paris opened at least one criminal probe into suspected harassment involving women being filmed using smart glasses without their consent.
