Surrey school confiscates Meta glasses over privacy and exam integrity concerns

Johnston Heights Secondary School in Surrey will confiscate Meta smart glasses from students and call their parents to pick them up, citing "significant privacy and academic integrity concerns."

The school issued the policy after students raised worries that people in the school community were considering buying the glasses. Unverified reports suggest some students already wore Meta glasses at the school last year. Neither B.C. nor Canada has laws banning or regulating smart glasses in public spaces, leaving individual schools to set their own rules.

Meta glasses can record video and audio without visible indicators that capture is happening, raising the same privacy risks as hidden cameras. Johnston Heights cited concerns that students could film tests and exams, or record staff and other students without consent. Surrey Schools' Safe and Caring Schools procedures prohibit recording anyone "visually or audibly, for any reason without their prior consent," according to Superintendent Mark Pearmain. Those same procedures require digital devices be put away during non-class time like recess and lunch, though the policy doesn't specifically mention wearable technology.

Pearmain said Surrey Schools expects "all personal digital devices and technologies capable of capturing images, video, or sound" to respect privacy on school property. The Vancouver School Board has issued similar guidance, restricting device use during school hours and limiting it to educational purposes when permitted by classroom educators. Neither district's code of conduct explicitly names Meta glasses.

Background: Teen girls have been secretly filmed and harassed at schools with smart glasses, and teen boys wearing Meta glasses to school have been reported in recent media coverage. The issue is emerging as wearable cameras become more affordable and harder to detect.