Newsom Vetoes California Bill Targeting Secret Smart Glasses Recording

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed Senate Bill 1130, legislation that would have made it unlawful to secretly record people using wearable devices such as smart glasses.

In a letter to lawmakers on Wednesday, Newsom said he declined to sign the bill because it defines wearable recording devices "too broadly or imprecisely," a flaw he warned could lead to confusion and unintended consequences. He also noted that the proposed law includes protections that already exist under current California law.

The bill would have made California the first U.S. state to regulate smart glasses. The move comes as other jurisdictions move in the opposite direction — Norway, for example, is considering a potential ban on the technology.

Had the bill become law, violators could have faced fines or prison time. Wearable manufacturers that failed to comply with the rules would also have faced fines.

The legislation aimed to prevent people from being recorded in public places without their explicit consent. Its sponsors pointed to a rising wave of wearable products with built-in cameras and always-listening microphones that capture everything nearby — including internet-connected glasses sold by Meta and Snap.

The market is large and growing. Meta sold more than 7 million wearable glasses last year alone. Several other hardware wearables, such as AI-powered pendants, have launched to mixed reactions.

Bill author Eloise Gómez Reyes, a California state senator, told ABC News the measure was designed to help California respond to the rapid rollout of always-listening technology.

Critics and consumers have dubbed the controversial devices "pervert glasses" after multiple reports of people using them to record and harass others. The veto arrives as the always-listening category expands beyond glasses: Apple announced last month that its latest Apple Watch software will include a feature allowing wearers to replay a transcript of the previous 15 seconds and to recap and summarize conversations from the day.

The legislature can now either revise the bill's language to address Newsom's concerns about overly broad definitions or let the proposal die — a decision that will shape how the largest U.S. state consumer market governs wearable surveillance technology.