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Meta AI smart glasses face privacy lawsuits, probes and mounting scrutiny
A BBC investigation in January reported secret filming with Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses that was later posted to TikTok without consent, and Meta is also under scrutiny over potential facial recognition.
Lawsuits, privacy complaints, and government investigations have intensified scrutiny of Meta’s AI-powered smart glasses, which the company is developing as a potential replacement for smartphones. Critics say the devices can be used to record people and gather personal data without consent, despite Meta’s stated privacy protections.
In January, a BBC investigation found women were secretly filmed with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses after being approached in public, with videos posted to TikTok without their consent and generating hundreds of thousands of views and comments. The BBC also identified an account that had posted more than 100 similar videos.
A joint investigation by Swedish newspapers in February found Nairobi-based contractors hired to train Meta’s AI reviewed footage captured by the smart glasses, including footage involving people in private settings and other sensitive content. In March, Meta faced a class-action lawsuit alleging it did not clearly disclose that human contractors could review content shared with Meta AI.
Later that month, Democratic senators Edward Markey, Jeff Merkley, and Ron Wyden questioned Meta about reported facial recognition plans, warning the technology could enable real-time identification, stalking, and harassment. The ACLU and 75 other organizations urged Meta in April to abandon plans to add facial recognition, and in the following month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into the devices over concerns they could secretly record people and collect facial data, according to Decrypt.