Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew argues that Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, dubbed "pervert glasses" by critics, threaten public life by normalising covert filming, and that legislation alone cannot fix this. He contends the devices let wearers record people without consent, with weak safeguards against disabling the recording indicator, while Meta focuses on marketing reassurances rather than addressing the underlying design flaws. He argues the harm goes beyond obvious misuse by "creeps and perverts" to a deeper erosion of trust and personal agency, since even well-intentioned filming without consent amounts to a violation.

Liew notes around nine million Ray-Ban Meta glasses are already in circulation, turning public spaces into zones of constant, unregulated, mobile surveillance unlike fixed CCTV cameras. He points out that because wearables are marketed as fashion items rather than surveillance tools, legal responses tend to be reactive and insufficient, citing Denmark's attempt at regulation as one example. His proposed remedy, previewed in the piece, is social mockery and shaming as a more immediate check on the technology's spread than the law.