Meta smart glasses face growing bans across Britain as fine dining restaurants, pub chains, and theaters bar visitors from wearing the technology over privacy concerns. Venue operators report increasing fears that the devices expose customers and staff to secret recording.
Meta enlisted celebrity Kylie Jenner to promote its new line of smart glasses, aiming to make the devices as popular as tablets and smartwatches. However, adoption of the eyewear in Britain is encountering significant resistance from businesses concerned about customer and employee privacy.
London restaurant bans
British businessman Jeremy King, owner of historic London dining venues including Simpsons in the Strand, Arlington, and The Park, stated that guests must not wear the glasses inside his establishments. King told the Guardian that he would never knowingly permit any infringement of patron privacy beyond what occurs with natural human vision.
Pub chains and private clubs
Private member club operator Soho House confirmed that video recording remains strictly prohibited inside its properties, noting that Meta smart glasses are subject to the same policy. Company representatives stated that visitors wearing the devices may be instructed to take them off.
Major pub operator Wetherspoons is enforcing the same restriction across its locations. Chief Executive Officer Tim Martin explained that pub rules prohibit recording customers or staff without explicit permission, stating that Meta glasses appear to violate both standard policy and common sense by enabling covert surveillance.
Martin said team members will initially request that customers deactivate the cameras on their glasses. He compared the measure to venue rules against playing videos with audible sound, which also disrupt the personal space of other patrons.
Theater enforcement and manufacturer claims
Theater operators are also blocking the use of smart glasses during live performances. A spokesperson for ATG Theatres, which operates venues including the Bristol Hippodrome, the Edinburgh Playhouse, and multiple sites in London, stated that image recording during shows is prohibited and any audience member wearing Meta glasses will be asked to remove them.
Meta maintains that it built safety features into the eyewear to prevent secret video or photo recording. Despite those built-in safeguards, British business managers and venue owners continue to express concern that the glasses allow subtle surveillance without surrounding people knowing, leading venues to enact total bans.
