A recent BBC investigation finds smart glasses and other devices are being used to film victims for perverted and financial incentives.
People have been covertly filming women during nights out and uploading the footage to social media for views and profit, in some cases using smart glasses to record without attracting attention, according to a report by the BBC.
The videos are often presented as harmless nightlife clips or city walk content, but the broadcaster has asserted that many of them center on women in dresses or skirts, and use angles that appear designed to capture humiliating or intimate views.
According to the report, investigators identified nearly 50 women who had been filmed without their knowledge. Many of those women have said they were shocked to learn the footage existed and upset that strangers had recorded and shared it online without consent. Several described the videos as degrading, particularly because the clips were framed as entertainment while ignoring the women’s privacy.
BBC reporters had gone undercover in Manchester and observed men secretly filming women on the street, including footage captured with wearable technology such as smart glasses, to remain inconspicuous. The report also found that some channels built around this content had drawn millions of views across major platforms. In some cases, the accounts appeared to treat the clips as a revenue source, turning nonconsensual footage into monetized content.
Is a sleeping world waking up?
The report has intensified calls for legal reform. Advocates argue that existing laws do not adequately address the harm caused when women are filmed in public and then exploited online for clicks and income. Campaigners have urged authorities to consider making this conduct a specific offense, saying the current framework leaves too many victims without clear protection.
For the women involved, the harm goes well beyond embarrassment. The BBC’s findings show how easily privacy can be violated when hidden filming is packaged as harmless social media content. According to another report, more than 70 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have called on Meta to abandon plans to add facial recognition to their smart glasses, which could exacerbate stalking, harassment, and the erosion of public anonymity, among other risks.
The controversy has hit at the right time as tech firms are all preparing to launch competing smart glasses and even earphones that contain tiny cameras.
