A young man has been arrested in Barcelona After recording hundreds of women with smart glasses without their knowledge. What he did with those recordings: use them in their “seduction” courses that sold for 3,000 euros.
Why is it important. It is the first known case in Spain where Ray-Ban Meta They are used to commit crimes against intimacy. The victims did not know that a camera that they did not detect recorded conversations about personal information that later disseminated and monetized.
The facts. The detainee approached foreign tourists in Barcelona, held apparently casual conversations and recorded them with glasses that had an integrated camera. Without noticing it, and in fact hiding it.
The videos were later published in Tiktok and Instagram as a claim for their “seduction techniques” courses.
In figures:
- 329 videos analyzed by the police.
- 239 Conversations with intimate data of women.
- 700,000 visualizations reached the video of the complainant.
- 3,000 euros cost the full course (plus 45 euros per month of subscription)
The technical problem. The Ray-Ban Meta (329 euros) emit a white light when recording, but it is easy to hide them with small tricks. The majority of victims did not detect being recorded, according to police investigation.
Smart glasses pose a privacy dilemma that we had not had to face so far, although it already anticipated a decade ago with The Google Glass opening the way. Ray-Ban Meta are much more concealed. Let’s not talk compared to a mobile.
Yes, but. Goal designed a safeguard: the indicator light. The problem arises when malicious users deliberately avoid them to record without consent and then make malicious use, or at least to monetize or spread them.
Goal is preparing more AI functions for these glasses that will identify places or people in real time. Some users have achieved it on their own. This arrest promises to be the first of many conflicts that are yet to come between body technology and privacy.
Outstanding image | Goal
In Xataka | Technology are getting excited about smart glasses. I have serious doubts about your success
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