Pakistan has moved to restrict the import of smart glasses with built-in cameras. The Economic Coordination Committee of the federal cabinet approved the decision on November 4. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the meeting at the Finance Division. Additionally, the ECC recommended that all provinces and Islamabad develop workplace regulations for such devices.
The restriction specifically targets camera-enabled smart glasses. These are devices like Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses that can record video, capture photos, and stream to a phone discreetly. The core concern is that someone wearing them can record you without your knowledge or consent. A small LED indicator exists on Meta’s glasses, but a peer-reviewed study from Tsinghua University found it inadequate as a bystander safeguard.
This federal decision follows months of mounting legal and political pressure across the country. In October, the Lahore High Court directed the federal cabinet to take up the matter after a citizen petition. Advocate Shahram Saqi filed the case on behalf of petitioner Nadra Bibi. He argued that shops at Lahore’s Hafeez Centre and online stores sell camera glasses openly without any PTA approval. The court also directed FBR Customs to report on illegally imported spy gadgets.
Meanwhile, Punjab had already acted independently. The provincial government imposed a 30-day ban on the sale and use of camera-enabled glasses in October. That ban also covered miniature cameras disguised as pens, watches, and other everyday objects. Officials specifically cited risks of harassment, blackmail, and privacy violations targeting women and children.
However, the ECC decision does not yet function as a full ban in practice. FBR Customs must first issue a formal SRO before enforcement begins at borders. Furthermore, the decision does not affect existing owners or confiscate devices already in the country. That gap between approval and implementation could take weeks to close.
Pakistan joins a growing global trend with this move. Germany’s data protection authority has already fined users of similar devices. Several Indian universities recently debarred students for wearing Meta glasses during exams. For a country where grey-market sellers already offer Ray-Ban Meta glasses at around PKR 100,000, the restriction signals that privacy concerns have now overtaken consumer demand.
