CTS confirms ban on Meta glasses in judicial buildings in England and Wales, as per long established rules.
The Guardian is running a story under the headline, ‘Meta glasses banned from courts in England and Wales’. That might make it sound like a new ban on smart glasses and this kind of technology, but the rules have been in place and long understood for more than a century.
As spokesperson for His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (CTS), the body responsible for all criminal, civil and family courts in England and Wales, told the Guardian: ‘There are clear restrictions on taking images or videos within courts and tribunals which is why the use of smart glasses is prohibited.
‘Users who bring Meta glasses into courts or tribunals will have them confiscated on entry and they will be returned when the owner leaves the building.’
The ban in images – whether sketches or photographs – was introduced in Section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925. Section 9 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 added provisions to extend the ban to tape recorders and other devices used to record sound. The rules have since been expanded to cover visual recording.
For example, Article 2 of the Crown Court (Recording) Order 2016 defines prohibited recording as ‘a visual or sound recording on any medium from which a single image, a moving image or any sound may be produced or reproduced, or the making of any such recording’ without the permission of a ‘qualifying judge’.
Smartphones are allowed in courtrooms on the condition that they are not used to record sound or video.
So why does this need to be restated?
Earlier this year, members of the security team of Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wore smart glasses when they attended a court trial in California. Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl informed them that she would hold them in contempt of court if they used the glasses to record proceedings.
Last month, the New York State Office of Court Administration prohibited the use of smart glasses in state, county, town and village courts. It is the first US state to do so.
There have been instances of people wearing smart glasses to court in the UK. On July 30, the CTS posted on Facebook a reminder that smart glasses are banned in courts in England and Wales. There has been some discussion about this in various circles, such as over how the rules would be applied.
Hence the new response from CTS: in line with the law established for more than a century, it will confiscate smart glasses from anyone seen wearing them in its judicial buildings.
Photo: Matthew Fassnacht / Unsplash
Leave a Reply