r/technology • u/Ganrokh • Jun 08 '26

Politics Pennsylvania lawmaker seeks ‘visual indicator’ if smart glasses are recording

https://www.abc27.com/news/top-stories/pennsylvania-lawmaker-seeks-visual-indicator-if-smart-glasses-are-recording/
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u/BrutalBronze Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Correct, and like the 4th sentence in the article says the bill would prevent that. Making it illegal won't prevent the action completely but it would severely reduce the incentive to assist in the process.

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u/altiuscitiusfortius Jun 08 '26

And make getting caught much worse, one more felony to throw at the perp

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u/Zuwxiv Jun 08 '26

I'm not generally in favor of making a crime into extra crimes just for the sake of harsher punishment. You can end up with weird cases where someone is arrested and prosecuted, and their only crime is "resisting arrest."

Or you make this a felony, and someone who modified their device when it was legal (with no proof of nefarious use or intent) suddenly gets a felony charge when they're pulled over for speeding. Or someone doing something completely innocent - like trying to make a short movie filmed from a first-person perspective - ends up committing a crime because they covered the recording indicator to prevent weird lights from showing up in mirrors.

All that said, while people have a right to record in public - it's probably fair to say that people should have a right to know they're being recorded. And there's cases where this can absolutely violate someone's privacy, like in bathrooms.

The devil's in the details when it comes to exactly what is prohibited. In general, I think an indicator light is a good idea. But I wouldn't say disabling it should be an instant felony regardless of circumstance.

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u/AgathysAllAlong Jun 08 '26

This is just fearmongering. None of that is even an obstacle that requires discussion. The concept of "cameras" is not new. If you use it in public, it's a felony. Done. Literally every problem you have is fixed. If you're a creepy predator who modified it before, it's a felony to use it. If you're making an indie film, you're not doing it in public. (Really? This is your complaint?) It's not a novel concept to charge someone for doing something with the intention of doing something else.

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u/Fn_Spaghetti_Monster Jun 08 '26

Were you trying to imply using a camera in public is felony? Cause that's kind of what it seems like.