Signal California Bill To Address Wearable Recording Devices, Including Glasses

Summary

California Senate Bill 1130 would criminalize using wearable recording devices, including smart glasses, to record audio or video without consent in workplace areas carrying a reasonable expectation of privacy, with penalties of up to a year in jail or a $1,500 fine. The bill would also separately make disabling a recording indicator light or sound a misdemeanor. Manufacturing, selling or using technology designed to defeat such indicators would draw civil penalties of up to $2,500. The bill has not yet passed the full California legislature or been signed into law. New York and a UK court took similar action on wearable recording devices around the same period, reflecting a broader multi-jurisdiction response to the spread of AI-enabled smart glasses.