Meta's AI glasses banned from New York courts amid privacy fears

New York’s memo, effective July 20, requires anyone entering state, county, city, town, or village courts to surrender camera-equipped eyewear or headwear like Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses. The rule targets their easy-to-miss recording indicator light, which security staff cannot reliably detect whether the device is filming, streaming, or idle. Singapore, meanwhile, relies on the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016, which bans unauthorized recording regardless of device, but was written before wearable cameras blurred the line between glasses and recording gear. The State Courts already ask visitors not to activate cameras, but this doesn’t tackle the stealth design of AI eyewear.

Singapore became the first Southeast Asian market to launch Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses in April 2026, with prescription-friendly Gen 2 models following in May. The country ranks second globally in generative AI adoption among working-age users, according to Microsoft's AI Diffusion Report, and firm-level AI adoption jumped from 4.3% in 2023 to 23.5% in 2025. Yet its AI governance frameworks—the Model AI Governance Framework, Personal Data Protection Act, and sector-specific rules—were built for AI systems in defined environments, not wearable cameras that continuously collect data without consent. As AI wearables proliferate, the question is whether Singapore will need a hardware-specific ban like New York’s or must adapt its existing laws to address the unique privacy risks of always-on recording.