Newsom vetoes California bill aimed at secret recording by smart glasses

The veto keeps current privacy rules in place while avoiding new recorder-indicator requirements for wearable devices.

California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed California Senate Bill 1130, which would have criminalized secretly recording people with smart glasses and other wearable recording devices in places where they expect privacy, such as parts of businesses. The bill also would have required wearables to show a visible or audible indicator while recording and banned selling tools that disable those indicators, with fines for both users and manufacturers that violated the rules. Newsom argued in a letter to lawmakers that the bill’s definition of “wearable recording device” was overly broad, potentially sweeping in common devices like some smartwatches and duplicating protections that already exist under California privacy and consent laws. Supporters said the measure was intended to address the proliferation of always-on, camera- and microphone-equipped products such as smart glasses from Meta and Snap, while critics and some consumers have labeled such devices “pervert glasses” after incidents of harassment and secret recording. The bill’s author, state senator Eloise Gómez Reyes, has said the proposal was meant to help the state keep up with the rapid deployment of always-listening technology.