Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg walked into a Los Angeles courthouse Wednesday with his team sporting the company's Ray-Ban smart glasses - and walked straight into a privacy firestorm. Judge Carolyn Kuhl immediately spotted the camera-equipped wearables and issued a stark warning that anyone caught recording would face contempt of court charges. The incident reveals a growing tension between AI-powered consumer tech and institutions built on privacy rules written long before anyone imagined cameras hidden in everyday eyewear.
Meta just gave the legal system a crash course in why smart glasses terrify privacy advocates. When Mark Zuckerberg arrived at a Los Angeles courthouse Wednesday for a high-profile trial, his entourage came equipped with the company's latest Ray-Ban smart glasses - sleek eyewear packing cameras and AI capabilities that look identical to regular sunglasses.
Judge Carolyn Kuhl wasn't having it. According to CNBC's reporting, she quickly warned anyone wearing the glasses that recording in court would result in contempt charges and immediate deletion of any footage. She ordered everyone wearing AI smart glasses to remove them entirely - a rare judicial intervention into what tech companies market as the future of everyday computing.
The warning didn't completely stick. At least one person was spotted still wearing the glasses in a courthouse hallway near jurors after the judge's directive. Plaintiff attorney Rachel Lanier was told the glasses weren't recording at the time, but the incident underscores exactly why these devices make legal experts nervous - there's no reliable way to verify whether someone's actually recording or just wearing stylish eyewear.
Meta launched its latest Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2023, positioning them as a breakthrough in wearable AI. The glasses can capture photos and video, livestream to social media, and tap into Meta's AI assistant for real-time information. The company added a small LED indicator light meant to signal when recording is active, but critics have long argued the light is too subtle and easily missed in normal lighting conditions.
