Women Secretly Filmed via Smart Glasses: Probe Reveals Abuse

An investigation by Belgian public broadcaster RTBF has uncovered how women are being secretly filmed using connected smart glasses by men posing as “seduction coaches,” prompting Belgian Minister Vanessa Matz to call on the European Data Protection Committee to address the growing privacy crisis. Victims in Brussels and beyond describe feeling deeply betrayed as footage of unsuspecting encounters is posted to social media and monetized through paid coaching programs.

The Investigation

Published on May 29, 2026, the RTBF investigation by journalist Marie-Laure Mathot documents firsthand accounts from women in Brussels who were approached in public, filmed without their knowledge using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and had the footage posted online. The glasses, which resemble standard Ray-Ban frames but include a hidden camera, have seen explosive growth — 7 million pairs were sold in 2025 alone, three times more than the previous two years combined.

One victim, identified as Alice, was approached at the Mont des Arts in Brussels in February 2026. The man followed her to her appointment, then revealed he had been filming her the entire time. He offered her a “compensation” of €30 and asked her to sign a release form — a single copy to be kept by him. She refused and demanded deletion. “I was betrayed and I don’t want this kind of thing to happen again,” she told RTBF.

Another victim, Jeanne, a freelance journalist and waitress in a Brussels café, was approached in April 2026 by a man who touched his glasses frame suspiciously. She suspected filming but saw no LED indicator light — the very feature Meta says alerts others to recording.

A Global Phenomenon

The practice extends far beyond Belgium. A parallel BBC investigation published in January 2026 by journalist Molly Stazicker documented similar cases across the UK, US, and Australia. Seven women told the BBC they were filmed in this way. Dilara, 21, was filmed in a London store lift; the video received 1.3 million views on TikTok. Her phone number was visible in the footage, leading to harassment. Kim, 56, was filmed on a beach in West Sussex; the video amassed 6.9 million views on TikTok and over 100,000 likes on Instagram.

“Nobody’s got the right to film other people and exploit them and sexualise them, make money out of them without their permission,” Kim told the BBC.

In Spain, police arrested a man in Barcelona in May 2025 for filming 329 videos of women without consent to promote his “seduction techniques” courses, as reported by AFP. He was charged with privacy violations and sexual assault and remains free pending trial.

The Business of Covert Filming

The men behind these videos operate as “seduction coaches,” offering paid coaching sessions — €150 per hour in France, €3,000 for full access to content in the Spanish case. They monetize content through TikTok’s Creator Reward Program and private coaching, turning unsuspecting women’s reactions into profit.

The LED Problem

Meta states its glasses have an LED light that activates during recording and features tamper-detection technology. The company told RTBF: “Unlike smartphones, our glasses are equipped with an LED light that turns on as soon as a user captures content… Our terms of use clearly stipulate that users must comply with all applicable laws.” However, victims in both the Belgian and BBC investigations report seeing no light. Tutorials circulating online demonstrate how to cover or disable the LED indicator.

Government Response

On May 27, 2026, Belgian Minister Vanessa Matz formally asked the European Data Protection Committee to open a reflection on the risks posed by smart glasses. “Just because a technology allows filming everyone, everywhere, all the time, doesn’t make it socially acceptable,” she said in a statement reported by RTBF. “A woman should never have to fear being filmed, followed, or identified without her knowledge in a bar, on the street, or in public transport.”

Legal Framework

Under Belgian and EU law, the right to image requires consent for both capture and dissemination. GDPR classifies images and voice recordings as personal data, requiring a “clear positive act” of consent. However, as IT lawyer Maître Saba Parsa explained to RTBF, there is currently no specific law explicitly prohibiting filming someone in public with smart glasses, though existing privacy laws apply. “In either case, the legality is heavily compromised,” she said.

Broader Concerns

The investigation comes amid growing alarm about Meta’s reported plans for “Name Tag” facial recognition for smart glasses. On April 15, 2026, a coalition of 75 US civil rights organizations, including the ACLU, sent an open letter to Meta demanding the company abandon these plans, citing risks to domestic violence survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals, and political dissidents.

Rebecca Hitchen of the End Violence Against Women Coalition told the BBC that manufacturers of smart glasses are “prioritising profit over women’s safety and wellbeing, and need to instigate safety measures.”

What’s Next

Belgium’s referral to the European Data Protection Committee could lead to EU-wide guidelines or regulations on wearable cameras. With 7 million pairs sold in 2025 and competitors like Samsung and Apple entering the market, the scale of potential privacy violations is set to grow exponentially. The question now is whether regulation can keep pace with a technology that makes everyone, everywhere, a potential target of covert surveillance.