SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation Wednesday that would have penalized Californians for using smart glasses to record people without their permission in changing rooms, doctor’s offices and other spaces people generally consider private.
The legislation also would have required companies making smart glasses or other wearable devices, starting in 2028, to include a light or some other feature that indicates that the person is video or audio recording. It would have banned the sale of technology designed to help people conceal a recording light or sound on a smart device.
Newsom wrote in a letter explaining his decision that the bill's definition of a wearable recording device was too broad. He noted that the state already bars people from recording someone without their consent in spaces generally considered private.
Meta Ray-Bans, smart glasses that were rolled out in 2021, have especially grown in popularity, with more than 7 million of the AI-powered devices being sold last year. State Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, who wrote the bill, said it would've helped the state respond to the technology’s rapid growth.
“Whatever we can do to protect an individual’s right to privacy, we have to do,” she said.
The bill would have been the first of its kind in the nation and built upon the state’s extensive privacy protections. California is one of about a dozen states that already requires both parties’ consent before a conversation can be recorded via audio or video.
Reyes’ proposal was designed to clarify that it applied to smart glasses and make it easier for someone to tell when those devices are recording. Any person who violated the bill by secretly recording someone would have faced prison time or fines of up to $1,500. A company that made devices that didn't comply with the bill would've faced fines up to $2,500.
But TechNet, a group of executives from companies including Meta, Google and Amazon, said the legislation, known as SB 1130, would have been unfair to businesses and customers.
“California already has extensive laws governing unlawful recording, and as currently written, SB 1130 is not the right approach to addressing these concerns,” TechNet Executive Director Robert Boykin said in a statement.
Meta touted the benefits of its smart glasses in response to Newsom's veto, including an initiative providing the devices to blinded veterans to help them read documents and identify objects.
“We’re still in the early days of building this technology and we’re committed to continuing prioritizing privacy as we build,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
About a dozen states, including California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, require someone who wants to record a conversation to get the other person’s permission.
It’s important to strengthen privacy laws for these wearable smart devices because it’s not as obvious to tell when a person is using them to record compared to when someone is filming with their phone or a camera, said Justin Brookman, the director of technology policy for Consumer Reports.
In a letter to lawmakers earlier this year about the bill, Consumer Reports referenced a TikTok in which a woman recounted her experience getting a wax when she realized her technician was wearing smart glasses. The technician told the content creator, Aniessa Navarro, that the glasses weren’t on, but the experience was still unnerving, she said in the TikTok. The Consumer Reports letter cited a separate event in which a woman said she was secretly filmed with smart glasses at a gym and harassed online after the video was uploaded to social media.
“The stories are enough to cause alarm, and we need to do something as soon as we can,” Reyes said at the end of the legislative session.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, discusses environmental issues with Wade Crowfoot, head of the California Natural Resources Agency in San Francisco, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
NEW YORK (AP) — With the Boston bats ice cold at Yankee Stadium again, a couple of quick hooks by Red Sox rookie manager Chad Tracy led to an early postseason exit.
Same story, different year. And this time, it wasn't even close.
For the second consecutive season, the Red Sox were sent home for the winter by their biggest rivals when the New York Yankees rolled to a 9-2 victory Wednesday night and a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series.
The Red Sox were outscored 18-2 overall and left to lament a miserable finish to this roller-coaster ride of a season.
Facing a New York lineup missing injured slugger Aaron Judge, the Red Sox gave up 26 hits despite a pair of effective performances from their starting pitchers.
At the plate, Boston mustered only seven hits and finally snapped a 26-inning postseason scoring drought that dated to last year when Willson Contreras homered just over the right-center fence in the sixth Wednesday.
Needing a victory to extend their season, the Red Sox sent 18-game winner Sonny Gray to the mound and he certainly gave them a chance. Boston trailed 1-0 in the fifth when the right-hander allowed a two-out single to Ben Rice that put runners at the corners.
Tracy then yanked Gray after only 70 pitches, eager to hand the ball to baseball's best bullpen during the regular season.
The 41-year-old Tracy, the youngest manager in these playoffs, made a similar move in the series opener when he pulled rookie starter Payton Tolle after 4 2/3 innings and 83 pitches in a 1-0 game.
Both decisions backfired.
On Tuesday, Rice greeted left-handed reliever Erik Miller with a 423-foot solo homer to straightaway center field, and the Yankees cruised to a 9-0 victory.
This time, Tracy summoned Miller to face a different left-handed batter, Cody Bellinger — who batted .274 against lefties this season and .259 versus right-handers. In fact, his .310 batting average against left-handers over the past two years was the best of any left-handed hitter in the majors.
Bellinger made Tracy and the Red Sox pay, lining an RBI single to right field.
“We’re struggling to score runs,” Tracy said. “And when you get in spots where struggling to score runs and you’re already trailing, you feel like you’ve got to be aggressive and go.”
Back from a shoulder injury, ace starter Garrett Crochet entered in the sixth for his first outing since April 25 and first relief appearance since 2023 with the Chicago White Sox. The left-hander opened with a strikeout, but Spencer Jones reached safely on a wild pitch, and Crochet never got an out.
Bellinger's three-run homer off right-hander Garrett Whitlock capped a six-run inning that made it 8-1, and the Red Sox were finished.
Their downfall in the Bronx was a crushing end to a wild 2026 season for the Red Sox, who stumbled to 32-46 start and went on a magical 15-game winning streak in July to climb back into contention.
“It’s obviously been an eventful year. In the moment right now you can’t think much more other than anything but the fact that we just lost a playoff series,” Tracy said.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock reacts after giving up a three-run home run to New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Garrett Crochet is pulled from the game against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger reacts while jogging the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inningin Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray walks back to the dugout after being pulled during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray, center facing, is pulled from the game against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
