Regulators in three island jurisdictions have signed a joint advisory about camera glasses, cautioning that quietly designed frames can sweep up people, conversations and personal details with nobody the wiser.

The regulators in Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man said the devices offer few visible signals that a recording is running, unlike a phone or a traditional camera. They added that footage may be stored or processed by the manufacturer, including through cloud services held outside the islands.

They also flagged workplace use, telling organisations to think through what the glasses might capture and how that material gets handled.

Guernsey commissioner Brent Homan said public spaces do not erase privacy rights, and that glasses can serve people with disabilities while still having to respect the dignity of others.

Isle of Man commissioner Dr Alexandra Delaney-Bhattacharya said women and girls are disproportionately filmed without consent, and that a single glance is enough to start a recording. Jersey commissioner Paul Vane said the benefits are real but so are the risks, and that users and the public need to understand both.

The advisory landed in the same week that French prosecutors opened a criminal probe and Australian officials weighed restrictions on camera glasses in government buildings, widening the list of jurisdictions treating the frames as a regulatory problem.

Source: Channel Eye