Politicians should feel firsthand what it is like to be surveilled, says Lars Boje. But it is not well received in the halls of Christiansborg.
Politicians at Christiansborg can now be filmed by their colleague Lars Boje Mathisen wearing the controversial Meta glasses. (Photo: © Alexander Østerlin Koch, DR) Today at 6:38 PM
Should politicians at Christiansborg be surveilled? Yes, says the leader of Borgernes Parti (The Citizens' Party), Lars Boje Mathiesen.
Because it is precisely the politicians at Christiansborg who have decided that we should live in a society that increasingly surveils its citizens, Mathiesen believes.
- I think politicians are busy surveilling citizens, so how do they feel about us pointing the finger the other way? Lars Boje asks rhetorically, while filming our interview with the glasses.
But according to Boje's colleagues at Christiansborg, it is "bad practice," "poor form," and "a classic Boje stunt."
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A criticized pair of glasses
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The glasses, developed in a collaboration between eyewear company Ray-Ban and tech giant Meta, have been the subject of much debate recently.
They have been called "stalker glasses," "pervert glasses," and "assault glasses." Several people report having been filmed without knowing it in nightlife settings and experiencing it as offensive ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/mathilde-blev-hemmeligt-optaget-med-kraenker-brillen-og-haengt-ud-paa-tiktok-jeg-var-simpelthen ). Several Danish influencers have also faced so-called shitstorms after using the glasses on their platforms.
Read also: Cillemouse will surely survive yet another shitstorm: 'Maybe we followers are a bit hypocritical?' ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/cillemouse-skal-nok-klare-endnu-en-shitstorm-maaske-er-vi-foelgere-en-smule-hykleriske )
But that is not something that stops Lars Boje Mathiesen, who thinks wearing the Meta glasses is a good way to spark a debate.
How does it make sense that you think there is too much surveillance in society, but then you go around surveilling people yourself with the glasses in here?
- I do hope that politicians will take a stand on it. Maybe some of them will find it unpleasant.
- Then I hope they will think about the fact that there are also many Danes out there who think it has gone too far. That they are also tired of being surveilled, and that the state and the system surveil them, says Lars Boje Mathiesen.
Hear Lars Boje Mathiesen explain in the video here:
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'Peeping Lars with his new glasses'
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In 2025, the government, led by the Social Democratic Minister of Justice, Peter Hummelgaard, proposed allocating more funds to surveillance cameras and making it easier for housing associations to conduct surveillance. A proposal that was called "a slippery slope" by the think tank Justitia.
Read also: The government is proposing more surveillance, but it could have consequences for our freedom, the concern goes ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/regeringen-laegger-op-til-mere-overvaagning-men-det-kan-faa-konsekvenser-vores )
However, the Social Democrats' legal affairs spokesperson, Lea Wermelin, thinks the Meta glasses are a bad idea at Christiansborg.
- Frankly, I think it is a bit silly. You cannot compare surveilling to solve crime with walking around your workplace acting a bit like Peeping Tom with your new glasses.
Lea Wermelin thinks the glasses are silly:
Whether the glasses should be banned outright, Lea Wermelin cannot say, but something needs to be done, she says.
- We are looking at other European countries when it comes to ensuring that private individuals do not feel they are being surveilled all the time, whether out on the street or at their workplace, in case there are others who want to follow Lars Boje's example and walk around peeping a bit with their Meta glasses at people's workplaces.
The legal affairs spokesperson for the Red-Green Alliance, Eva Flyvholm, calls it outright disgusting that Boje wants to film colleagues at Christiansborg.
- I simply think it is poor form to film your colleagues that way. If people are filmed without having given consent to it, it is outright disgusting, I think, she says over the phone to DR.
Immediately, however, Lars Boje has no intention of recording colleagues or other people without their consent. It depends on the situation he is in.
- I do not need consent from people if I am just filming around. But it depends on the situation. I do not want to film people secretly.
Hear Lars Boje's intentions here:
However, the situation in question is irrelevant, according to Hans Kristian Skibby from the Denmark Democrats. He calls it "bad practice" and distances himself from Boje's new idea with the controversial glasses.
- I have not asked him to film a conversation with me. I think the finger points a bit at himself if he thinks this is a way to make himself interesting. I think it is bad practice, he says.
Hans Kristian Skibby distances himself:
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