California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have restricted the use of smart glasses and other wearable devices to secretly record people, TechCrunch reported Thursday. The measure, Senate Bill 1130, would have made California the first state to regulate wearable recording devices used without the consent of the people being filmed.

What Happened

SB 1130 was introduced by state Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes. It targeted wearables with built-in cameras and microphones used to record people in public without their knowledge. People who broke the law could have faced fines or prison time, and manufacturers whose devices did not meet its requirements would also have been fined, according to TechCrunch.

In his veto message, Newsom said the bill defined wearable recording devices too broadly and imprecisely, which he said risked confusion and consequences lawmakers did not intend. He also argued that existing California law already provides protections similar to those the bill proposed.

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Why It Matters

The veto leaves camera glasses governed by general privacy and recording laws that were written before such devices were common. California is a two-party consent state for recording confidential conversations, but that rule does not squarely address someone filming strangers on a street or in a store with a camera built into a pair of glasses. SB 1130 would have created rules specific to the hardware and put some of the responsibility on device makers, not only on users.

The market the bill aimed at is growing fast. Meta sold more than 7 million wearable glasses last year, TechCrunch reported, and Meta and Snap both sell internet-connected glasses with cameras. Apple has also added always-listening features to its latest Apple Watch software. As these devices add AI assistants that can see and hear what is around the wearer, the line between a gadget and a recording device has become harder to draw, which is the definitional problem Newsom cited.

Because California is home to many of the companies building these products, a state law there could have shaped how devices are designed for the rest of the U.S. market.

Context

Smart glasses have drawn criticism after reports of harassment and of people being filmed without realizing it, earning the devices the nickname "pervert glasses" among critics. The issue is not limited to the U.S. Norway is considering a possible ban on camera-equipped wearables, according to TechCrunch.

Meta's Ray-Ban glasses display a small indicator light when recording, a safeguard that privacy advocates have argued bystanders can easily miss. The vetoed bill would have moved beyond relying on such design choices and attached legal penalties to covert recording itself.

What to Watch

Supporters can bring back a narrower version when the legislature starts its next two-year session, and any new bill would likely need a tighter definition of which devices are covered to address Newsom's objections. Newsom leaves office in January because of term limits, so a future version would go to his successor. Watch also for Norway's decision on camera wearables and for whether other U.S. states draft their own rules, which could create a patchwork for device makers.