Oral Answers to Questions

Meg Hillier Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2026 Commons Chamber

The Minister for Women and Equalities was asked—

[Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

1. What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of camera-enabled smart glasses on women’s privacy.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)]

Covert filming using smart glasses can raise serious privacy concerns, and it is important that we spread awareness that criminal offences such as voyeurism already cover their most harmful uses. Platforms that host images or videos captured by smart glasses may also have duties to remove them under online safety or data protection legislation, and they should take those responsibilities extremely seriously.

[Dame Meg Hillier]

I am pleased by my right hon. Friend’s answer, but she is in a unique position across Government to ensure that we are protecting not only women, but those who are blind or have visual impairments, who really value this technology. If regulation is being talked about across Government, will she ensure that it is about the person misusing it rather than the adaptive technology itself, which can be of so much use to so many people?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue of the potential benefits in this area, as well as the risks and potential misuse that we sadly have seen. I would be more than happy to ensure that she has a meeting with the Minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to discuss this further, but I would of course be happy to discuss it with her myself as well.