One of the Most Controversial Federal Agencies Is Banning Workers From Using Meta Smart Glasses
The agency said the consumer device could capture sensitive information and privacy groups have warned about facial recognition and surveillance risks.
- On Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement prohibited employees from wearing Meta's smart glasses on duty, citing privacy concerns over the devices' ability to record audio and video discreetly in federal workspaces.
- The Department of Homeland Security stated that personally owned body-worn cameras have always been prohibited, following reports of agents wearing the consumer devices during protests and immigration raids over the past year.
- Critics note the glasses' recording light is easily bypassed with a $2 sticker. Despite the ban, ICE requested $7.5 million in its 2027 budget to develop "operational prototypes of smart glasses."
- New York banned the devices in court buildings last month to prevent surreptitious recording, while the Air Force barred airmen from wearing smart glasses in uniform citing operational security risks.
- Budget documents indicate the agency aims to deploy proprietary smart glasses by next year with biometric identification capabilities. However, officials have not specified what oversight rules will govern data collection and storage for the program.
18 Articles
18 Articles
ICE Agents Told They Cannot Wear Meta Glasses While On Duty
Meta Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents can’t sport Meta Glasses while terrorizing American citizens and immigrants. According to a memo obtained by The New York Times, ICE told its employees that using Meta Glasses is prohibited because “the use of Meta Glasses or similar devices could unintentionally capture, record, or transmit sensitive information, potentially compromising privacy and legal protections.” ICE agents are not the…
ICE bars Meta glasses among employees, but hopes to build its own wearable devices
Meta’s smart glasses have officially become so controversial that even Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doesn’t want them around. Well, at least not the consumer version.In a memo issued Aug. 18, acting ICE Director David Venturella told employees that Meta’s camera-equipped glasses count as personal body-worn cameras and therefore cannot be worn in federal workplaces."The use of Meta Glasses or similar devices could unintentionally cap…
One of the most controversial federal agencies is banning workers from using Meta smart glasses
ICE has banned Meta smart glasses from federal workplaces over privacy concerns, even as DHS seeks funding for purpose-built smart glasses that could support biometric identification during immigration enforcement.
ICE Agents Will Have to Leave Their Meta Glasses at Home
Meta's camera-equipped eyewear just hit a wall at one of the US government's most scrutinized agencies. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has formally barred all staff from wearing Meta's smart glasses in the "federal workspace," saying the devices amount to personal body cameras that could inadvertently capture or transmit "sensitive information,...
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