# Newsom vetoes the California bill that would have required recording lights on smart glasses

Source: https://idevice.com/newsom-vetoes-the-california-bill-that-would-have-required-recording-lights-on-s
Published: 2026-10-01

> California's governor vetoed SB-1130, which would have required a recording indicator on smart glasses and banned secret recording in private areas of businesses. Newsom said the bill's wording could sweep in smartwatches.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB-1130, the bill that would have put a recording indicator on smart glasses and made it a crime to secretly record someone with a wearable in a private part of a business, [Engadget reports](https://www.engadget.com/2274526/newsom-vetoes-smart-glasses-privacy-bill/). Changing rooms and doctors' offices were the examples.

Makers would have had to build in an indicator that is on whenever a device records video or audio, and selling technology designed to hide a recording light or sound would have been banned. Someone found guilty of secretly recording others faced a fine of up to $1,500, a prison sentence, or both. A company selling a wearable with no indicator, or with tech to block one, faced fines of up to $2,500 per violation.

In a letter to the State Senate, Newsom wrote that the bill's definition of 'wearable recording device' "could include certain smartwatches or other worn devices widely used in public spaces and capable of recording which could lead to significant confusion and unintended consequences." He added that California already bans using an electronic device to record people where they expect privacy, and that the state has a two-party consent law. TechNet, an advocacy group for large tech companies, opposed the bill.

Samsung's first Android XR glasses, which a Samsung official has put in November, already stop recording when the wearer covers the outside indicator light, and a second LED inside the frame tells the wearer when capture is running. We wrote about [how Samsung built both in without a law asking for them](https://idevice.com/samsung-glasses-already-obey-a-rule-california-has-not-passed) in August, while the bill was still moving. The veto drops the bill's indicator requirement for every maker.

Owners have found ways to cover the light on other camera glasses while recording continued, per [SamMobile](https://www.sammobile.com/opinion/samsung-smartglasses-promise-privacy-wont-escape-this-legal-minefield/), and [Meta spent two months patching it](https://idevice.com/meta-patched-its-recording-light-twice-in-two-months).

## Sources

- [Engadget](https://www.engadget.com/2274526/newsom-vetoes-smart-glasses-privacy-bill/) (Engadget)
- [SamMobile](https://www.sammobile.com/opinion/samsung-smartglasses-promise-privacy-wont-escape-this-legal-minefield/) (SamMobile)