Instagram Is Banning Prank Videos Filmed with Meta’s Own Smart Glasses

Business Insider, via coverage from The Verge, reports that Instagram will remove videos filmed with Meta smart glasses when they're used to harass, exploit, or secretly record people for prank and "pickup" content. Instagram head Adam Mosseri says accounts posting this kind of material can also be banned.

It's an interesting admission from Meta. The company is effectively acknowledging that one of the most visible uses of its own hardware has become recording unsuspecting people for viral content. Rather than banning the device, it's targeting the behavior and the content after it's uploaded.

I've never understood why humiliating strangers became entertainment. Social media has spent years rewarding the loudest, most outrageous behavior because that's what captures attention. When the algorithm pays for shock value, someone eventually builds hardware to make creating that content even easier.

Removing these videos is the right move, but it's also a reminder that platforms often end up cleaning up incentives they helped create. The harder problem isn't moderating the videos. It's designing products and recommendation systems that don't encourage people to treat everyone around them as potential content.

Read more from The Verge: Instagram will ban Meta glasses videos used to harass people.