Two household names are facing off: Facebook’s parent company against the popular pub chain.
These businesses together accounted for much of the conflict featured on The Jeremy Kyle Show.
The pub group has prohibited Meta’s intelligent eyewear across its venues.
Meta, which operates Facebook, produces these spectacles fitted with integrated cameras.
Patrons sporting them will be required to switch off the recording function or exit the premises.
The reasoning is that these glasses allow hidden monitoring and contravene the standard policy at their locations, which forbids capturing footage of guests or workers without their consent.
I find the prohibition appealing.
I would have no desire for video documentation of my visits to a Wetherspoons.
This is not an assessment of the chain itself.
Obviously I wouldn’t claim to be delayed in traffic while actually enjoying some private time there, yet I also wouldn’t want any footage that could be verified later.
Meta maintains that a tiny LED indicator on the frame illuminates whenever recording is taking place.
My professional experience in television facilities means I occasionally cannot determine which camera has its red light active.
On spectacles, that indicator will be considerably more minuscule.
Moreover, it is merely an LED.
A small amount of Blu-Tack would easily obscure it.
Some nail polish would do the trick.
A strip of electrically non-conductive tape would suffice.
One might wonder what sort of dubious individual would conceal the indicator.
The answer is precisely the type of person you would rather not have capturing footage of you.
I have been attempting to understand why individuals wearing these glasses provoke such suspicion.
After all, we already inhabit an era where virtually everybody carries a high-quality camera in their pocket.
We could all be recorded by anyone, though not covertly.
This differs fundamentally from the current preoccupation with self-portraits.
Nobody dons surveillance eyewear to film themselves.
A mirror would be necessary for that purpose.
Furthermore, you can be certain they will not distribute footage of you appearing distinguished at your local Spoons.
Nevertheless, should you stumble across the patterned carpet, send your drinks flying, and accidentally fall into an elderly patron’s embrace, that footage will be circulating online instantly.
As with all alarming technological advances, the technology cannot be un-invented.
It will not be long before filming becomes universal.
This will push me towards drinking, and at least I am aware of somewhere I can do so without surveillance.
Steve Allen is a comedian, broadcaster and writer. For additional content from Steve, tune into his programme ‘Steve N Allen Almost Daily’.