Liberal Democrats urge smart-glasses restrictions as Parliament reviews wearable tech

The Liberal Democrats urged Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle on October 14 to restrict smart glasses on the parliamentary estate, following suspected use of the devices during a Welsh parliamentary speech. UK Parliament confirmed that its wearable-technology policy was under review, bringing privacy, security and accessibility into a debate sparked by an apparent speech aid.

The intervention, reported by the Guardian, is a demand for action rather than an adopted ban. The parliamentary review also predates the latest letter: the senior deputy speaker of the House of Lords described its work last month. Its scope includes camera-equipped glasses and other wearable technology, not just devices used to display text.

A speech aid, not an alleged recording

Jason O’Connell, a Reform UK member of the Senedd, Wales’s parliament, was suspected of using smart glasses as a teleprompter during a five-minute chamber speech. He delivered detailed statistics while arguing against 20mph traffic zones, without looking at his notes. Periodic flashes in his lenses drew attention to the possibility that text was being displayed.

That use remains unconfirmed. The Guardian explicitly reported no suggestion that O’Connell’s glasses were recording. In the days after the speech, Welsh assembly members called for explicit guidance on smart glasses, saying the issue needed to be addressed quickly.

O’Connell acknowledged the attention in a Sunday post on X. Wearing oversized pink comedy glasses for a breast cancer charity, he wrote: “Trialling some new glasses for the chamber this week. Apparently my last ones caused quite a stir.” The Guardian said it had contacted him for comment.

The Westminster concern reaches beyond speeches

Anna Sabine, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for culture, media and sport, raised two different concerns: assistance that could make debates increasingly “managed”, and discreet recording that could expose private information. She questioned how much of an MP’s contribution might come from assistance delivered through AI glasses.

On privacy, Sabine pointed to meetings involving documents and sensitive constituent cases. She argued that glasses capable of discreet photography and video could undermine existing parliamentary restrictions on recording. Because they resemble ordinary spectacles, she warned, security teams might not notice filming, particularly if recording indicators were concealed or disabled.

Those were warnings about risk, not an identified Westminster recording incident. Sabine said she had not identified anyone wearing smart glasses in Parliament, while stressing that the devices could be difficult to recognize.

This is the problem: I wouldn’t necessarily know.

Anna Sabine, on recognizing smart-glasses wearers in Parliament, speaking to the Guardian

Security is not the review’s only test

Parliament’s review is considering whether additional guidance is needed. The senior deputy speaker said it would bring together specialists responsible for filming and photography rules, physical and information security, privacy, data protection, and accessibility and reasonable adjustments.

The stated aim is to balance security and privacy with operational needs and accessibility. That places access requirements inside the policy process alongside the concerns raised by the Liberal Democrats. The review’s question is whether existing rules need further guidance; the party’s intervention presses Hoyle to act amid what it describes as increasing use of the devices on the estate.