Torwa was waiting for her flight at an airport lounge in Washington, D.C., when she was accosted by an unknown man.
The two chatted, and after a while she agreed to exchange phone numbers with him. It wasn’t until she got home and searched his social media that she realized he had posted numerous videos of himself trying to pick up women at airports.
These videos were shot using a camera built into his glasses. Smart glasses look like regular glasses and are growing in popularity, although they are still relatively niche.
“I was horrified, but I found his TikTok and found out he was doing these ‘Liz’ videos,” Torwa said, using the popular slang term for “charisma,” a social media video that shows men approaching and chatting with women in public. Tolwa requested to be identified by her first name only for privacy reasons.
Ms Tolwa said that while they were in touch via text message, the man sent her footage he had filmed of her without her knowledge and said he wanted to “give her a miss” before sharing it online.
She said he tried to persuade her to agree to do so. However, he uploaded it to social media even though she explicitly disagreed. “It exploded to the point where people were sending me this video. Someone came up to me in Union Market, which is a large space in Washington, D.C., shoved it in my face and said, ‘Is this you?’
Social media is full of videos of men approaching women in public, flirting with them or trying to get their phone numbers. Videos are often taken without the permission or knowledge of the person being filmed and uploaded to platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
These videos, often shot from the perspective of a man approaching a potential subject, rack up thousands or even millions of views. Once posted, it may attract misogynistic comments.
The concept of pick-up artists is not new, but experts are warning of the rise of so-called “manfluencers” who secretly film women to create misogynistic content online.
The term “manfluencer” refers to a broad group of people on social media who create content aimed at men. Some accounts post benign content, such as gym routines and self-improvement advice, while others are more sinister.
In this online realm, women are often positioned “as conquerors, prizes, or rewards,” Stephanie Wescott, feminist scholar, author, speaker, and lecturer in education, culture and society at Australia’s Monash University, told CNN.
She warned that smart glasses could play into the hands of these content creators because they provide clear messages about power. In other words, men can “surveil, record, and thus control women’s appearances in public spaces without their knowledge, and the public space therefore belongs to men.”
For Wescott, this phenomenon is another example of the gendered misuse of technology, a danger that is difficult to predict for women. “The danger is that we lose our bodily autonomy without even realizing it’s happening,” she said.
Another woman, a DJ and producer who asked to be identified by her social media username Manic Muse, told CNN that she believed she was having a genuine interaction with a stranger when a man wearing glasses approached her at a grocery store in Texas and told her she was “beautiful.”
“He was giving off a good vibe, so I gave him[his phone number]and he texted me as soon as he got home and said he’d like to meet the next day,” she said.
“At the end of our interaction at the store, he asked if he could pat me on the back, which is obviously weird, but if you know me at all, I have a sore back.”
But after telling his sister about this interaction, she began to suspect that he was wearing Meta AI smart glasses. Meta AI smart glasses are becoming increasingly popular, and market research suggests that Meta AI is the top smart glasses brand so far. “At that moment, my heart dropped into my stomach.”
She said she sent the man a message asking if he was recording her, but he stopped replying to her.
Tracking his social media accounts showed he frequently uploaded videos of himself approaching women, posting them to his thousands of followers.
“So I messaged him and told him not to post anything online. I got no response, all crickets. Then I woke up the next morning and checked his account and it had been posted against my consent and was obviously secretly recorded.
“And that video has now reached almost 20 million views.” At the time of publication, it had reached more than 23 million views.
“This is a complete violation. I did not consent to being secretly recorded and I definitely did not consent to being the content of millions of strangers,” she said.
The smart glasses have a flashing light on the side to indicate recording, but this can be covered with an LED blackout sticker. These are widely available for purchase online.
In response to CNN’s request for comment, Mehta said: “Our glasses have an LED light that lights up every time someone captures content, so it’s obvious to others that the device is recording, and we have tamper detection technology that prevents people from hiding that light.
“Like any other recording device, including phones, people should use smart glasses safely and respectfully.”
The statement continued: “We know that despite the measures we have taken, there are a small number of users who choose to abuse our products.”
Meta said its terms of service clearly state that its smart glasses may not be used for harmful activities such as “harassment, violation of privacy rights, or collection of sensitive information.”
None of the women CNN spoke to said they saw the flashing lights on their glasses during the conversation.
British event organizer Anne-Marie, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was filmed without her consent by a man wearing smart glasses while on holiday in Malta and uploaded the video to social media. In an interview with CNN, she said she was told by police in Malta and the UK that nothing could be done, but said she reported the video to Instagram and TikTok, which ultimately removed it. These platforms remove videos that allegedly violate privacy, such as when they show people who have not given their consent.
Anne-Marie has spoken out against some male influencers who earn money from their posts. “This is a quick money thing… Once you get a certain amount of views, you can monetize it, but you shouldn’t monetize people who might be exposed. You need consent,” she told CNN.
Wescott believes that, like most content creators, “manfluencers” are looking to profit from their work. “Typically, their content acts as a funnel to generate leads for various business ventures, such as coaching, retreats, supplements, and other products,” she said.
Laws in some countries, including the UK and the US, generally allow people to be photographed in public without their consent, although exceptions such as harassment apply.
In the UK, data protection and privacy laws may apply if footage taken in public places is uploaded online, particularly if the footage is used for commercial purposes.
Feminist campaigners say this new phenomenon is an invasion of privacy and is being used to shame women in public. The Ending Violence Against Women Alliance (EVAW), a coalition of experts and feminist groups from across the UK, is calling on the government to ensure legislation is put in place to deal with these new threats.
“The very act of being photographed without consent for malicious purposes is a violation of women’s privacy and their right to freely exist in public,” Rebecca Hitchen, director of policy and campaigns at EVAW, told CNN.
“Smart glasses are therefore not an exciting innovation. For women, smart glasses pose a new threat to our daily lives.”
