TikToker faces police probe over secret filming using 'smart' glasses

A TikToker who used Meta "smart glasses" to secretly film members of the public, shop workers and ferry staff during a road trip around Scotland is being investigated by police.

Footage posted by Scott Margerison includes him swearing at a stranger, making sexualised comments about young women and an interaction with a Sikh shop worker where he talks about a plan to "breed out the white race".

In another video Margerison, from Rochdale, recorded a tour of the bridge of the CalMac ferry Loch Seaforth, prompting the firm to suspend the popular visits.

Police Scotland confirmed it had received complaints and was reviewing footage to establish if any criminality was involved.

BBC Scotland News has attempted to contact Margarison for comment.

Margerison, who posts on social media using the alias E Dobbin, has built up a following with videos where he frequently approaches strangers and starts bizarre conversations.

In late June and early July he toured Scotland in a white Ford Transit van, visiting various locations including Dunoon, Glencoe, John O'Groats, Skye, Uist, Barra and Lewis.

While many of his videos feature harmless banter, others have a darker side, particularly when he encounters young women or people from ethnic minorities.

In one video, the 42-year-old makes sexualised comments about the appearance of two teenagers who he spots as he drives onto a small CalMac ferry.

He then puts on his Meta glasses, which contain tiny cameras, gets out of his van and engages the girls and their parents in conversation, apparently without their knowledge of being filmed.

In the same video he uses a strong expletive in an unprovoked outburst directed at a fellow ferry passenger.

One of the most disturbing incidents occurs on Skye where he tells a UK-born Sikh shopkeeper of Indian heritage that there is "forced" diversity in Europe.

He goes on to refer to the Kalergi Plan - a far right conspiracy theory about a plot to "breed out the white race".

The woman, who was running the shop with her teenage daughter, politely suggests his comments are "slightly derogatory".

When he leaves, Margerison angrily describes her in his video commentary as "condescending" and complains that "they don't understand".

The woman, who was born in London and has lived in Skye for 20 years, told BBC Scotland News he initiated the conversation by asking "what are you doing here?" but edited this out of the published video.

She said her encounter with Margerison, who is heavily built and well over 6ft tall, was "100% intimidating" and that she cried when she was later told by a friend that a secretly-filmed video had been published on TikTok.

"You're made to feel very small when you see a video like this," she said.

"And it's sad because everyone in the local community is really nice. This was really upsetting."

While in the Hebrides, Margerison also filmed an angry encounter with an elderly couple in a supermarket after they complained that he had "loudly and rudely" asked them to move out of his way.

He follows them around the store, at one point blocking their path, swears in front of them, accuses them of being "mental".

He also tells them he intends to post footage of them on TikTok which he says is "well within my rights".

During a journey to the Isle of Lewis, Margerison was given an escorted tour of the bridge of CalMac's largest ferry MV Loch Seaforth - a courtesy the firm has traditionally offered customers at the discretion of the ship's master.

He spent about three minutes firing questions at the ship's second officer, who was helming the vessel, before he was shepherded back to the public areas.

When it emerged that the crew had been secretly filmed, CalMac announced it had paused such visits - which were popular with children and ship enthusiasts - because an individual had "filmed in a restricted area without permission."

A spokesperson for CalMac said Margerison had been informed prior to the tour that filming and photography was banned.

Elsewhere on the network, he argued with a female CalMac staff member as she tried to explain to him that the small ferry he wanted to board was fully booked.

Whether it is lawful to film someone secretly using Meta glasses depends on the circumstances.

In general people have only a limited expectation of privacy if the filming is carried out in a public place.

However, the filming would be unlawful if it amounts to harassment, stalking - or the behaviour is deemed likely to cause fear or alarm.

A person who is filmed could also have grounds for a civil claim if the footage is recorded in circumstances where they have a reasonably expectation of privacy - for instance in a changing room or a hospital treatment area.

And if the person filming the material is doing so as part of a business - for instance by making money from a social media channel - data protection laws may be relevant.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: "We are aware of the videos posted online and are assessing the content."

Smart glasses are rapidly moving from a niche gadget to a mainstream consumer technology, increasingly being marketed as AI assistants rather than simply wearable cameras.

They look just like ordinary spectacles or sunglasses but contain tiny cameras, microphones and batteries - and can access the internet, usually by pairing with a phone.

Meta is widely regarded as the dominant player having linked up with designer brands like RayBan and Oakley, but others including Apple, Google and Samsung are also investing in the technology.

Manufacturers point to potential benefits of the AI-linked technology. For instance a partially-sighted person could look at an object and ask: "What am I looking at?"

But the potential for the glasses to record, analyse and store information about people without their knowledge has raised some serious privacy concerns.

Meta glasses have a built-in LED light which blinks when they are recording images and cannot be turned off.

But earlier this month the firm announced it was having to roll out a mandatory update following reports that users were finding workarounds to disable the safeguard., external

BBC News has reported on cases where young women were approached and secretly recorded by men who then posted videos online and demanded money to remove them.

Secret recording has also taken place by individuals - including Margerison - at various Comic Con cosplay events, prompting attendees to complain of invasion of privacy, harassment and "body shaming".

Last week Monopoly Events, the promoter behind some of the biggest comic and entertainment conventions in the UK, banned Meta glasses from its gatherings.

Meta, which owns Instagram, told BBC Scotland News it was "actively investigating" Margerison's accounts and would act on anything that violated its policies.

On the smart glasses themselves, a spokesperson said: "People use our glasses because they're genuinely helpful – from listening to music, to live translation or hands-free calls.

"For those wearing them and the people around them, trust matters. That's why we built privacy into our AI glasses from the ground up."

The head of Instagram Adam Mosseri recently admitted that some users had tried to "drill off" the flashing light, but he claimed the latest updates meant doing so would render the glasses inoperable.

TikTok said it did not permit content that harasses or bullies others, and said it took action against accounts that violated its policies. , external

YouTube said it would investigate Margerison's videos on its platform.

Police Scotland is understood to be investigating complaints about both Margerison's secret filming and his behaviour, and anyone who wishes to report an incident should do so using the 101 number or online. , external