California Governor Gavin Newsom has blocked SB 1130, a piece of legislation designed to regulate secret recording via smart eyewear. The veto prevents new mandates for visible recording indicators on wearable devices, despite concerns over privacy in sensitive spaces.
The $1,500 fine and the rejection of SB 1130
The vetoed legislation, known as SB 1130, sought to impose strict penalties for those caught recording others without consent in confidential settings like medical offices, changing rooms, and other private areas. According to the report, individuals violating these rules could have faced prison time or fines of up to $1,500. for corporations, the bill would have mandated visible cues—such as lights or sounds—to signal active recording, with non-compliance carrying fines of up to $2,500.
Governor Newsom argued that the bill’s definition of a wearable recording device was too broad and could inadvertently penalize legitimate businesses. He maintained that California’s existing legal framework, which includes two-party consent requirements for conversations, provides sufficient protection without creating unnecessary economic hardships.
Meta, Google, and Amazon's TechNet coalition pushback
The TechNet coalition, representing major tech players including Meta, Google, and Amazon, actively campaigned against the measure. TechNet Executive Director Robert Boykin stated that California's current recording laws are already comprehensive, making the new restrictions unnecessary and potentially punitive for businesses operating under existing statutes.
Meta specifically defended the utility of its hardware, highlighting how its Ray-Ban smart glasses can serve as assistive technology for blind veterans by using AI to identify objects and read text. A Meta spokesperson emphasized that the company remains committed to upholding the state's privacy expectations, even without the additional mandates proposed by Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes.
The 7 million Ray-Ban units and the surveillance debate
The push for SB 1130 was driven by the rapid market penetration of wearable tech, most notably Meta's Ray-Bans, which saw more than seven million units sold last year. State Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes, the bill's author, argued that clarifying the law to include wearables was essential to help citizens recognize when they are being filmed in an era of pervasive surveillance.
As the source reports, this debate follows a growing trend of privacy concerns highlighted by Consumer Reports. The organization pointed to specific instances, such as a TikTok clip where a woman was unaware a technician was wearing recording glasses, and another incident involving a woman being filmed during a gym workout . These cases underscore the difficulty of identifying recording devices that lack obvious visual markers, a concern that privacy advocates say requires heightened oversight.
Can existing consent laws stop a TikTok-era privacy breach?
While states like Arizona, Massachusetts,and Pennsylvania already require consent before recording a conversation, significant questions remain about the efficacy of these laws against modern hardware. it remains unclear if current statutes can effectively police devices that are designed to be nearly indistinguishable from standard eyewear or smartwatches. Furthermore, the report does not clarify how law enforcement intends to verify whether a recording was made "secretly" in a way that triggers the existing two-party consent laws when the device itself is a passive, wearable object.
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