Panel advances bill to curb surreptitious recording by smart glasses and other wearables

Senator Reyes presented SB 11 30 as an update to California privacy law intended to address wearable recording devices such as smart glasses and other body-worn recorders. The committee voted to move the bill to Rules with negotiated amendments.

Experts and advocates said wearables make surreptitious recording easier and more pervasive. Catherine Crump, a UC Berkeley law professor, noted rapid sales of smart glasses and argued that disabling an indicator light deceives people and makes nonconsensual recording more likely. Consumer Reports’ Becca Kramer cited reporting on social-media influencers secretly filming workers and consumers, and urged clear guardrails.

Industry and business groups expressed concerns about new liability structures. Robert Boykin of TechNet and Ronak Dilami of the CalChamber urged aligning the bill with existing wiretapping and eavesdropping statutes and warned the draft could impose disproportionate liability on manufacturers and businesses. The author and committee negotiated changes that reduced certain criminal penalties to misdemeanors and shifted manufacturer penalties into the Business and Professions Code as civil penalties.

Senators questioned how the bill distinguishes wearables from handheld devices and how to craft definitions that avoid unintended consequences for common products. The author said definitions will be tightened. With committee amendments addressing penalties and manufacturer language, SB 11 30 was passed out to Rules for further consideration.