Meta Smart Glasses Face Bans in Europe Over Privacy Concerns

Key facts

• Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses are facing potential bans in France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
• The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) is expected to issue a report on smart glasses by the end of summer.
• Thomas Fuchs, Hamburg's data protection commissioner, called the glasses 'disguised cameras' and suggested they could be banned under German law.
• Hamburg's DPA is examining whether the LED indicators are sufficient and how data might be used for AI training.
• HateAid revealed complaints from young women in Potsdam about being secretly recorded at a public swimming pool.
• Bits of Freedom in the Netherlands is calling for restrictions similar to those on undress apps, spyware, and stalkerware.
• France's CNIL warned in May that the glasses pose a 'significant risk' of creating 'almost invisible and omnipresent' surveillance.
• The glasses include white LED lights that flash when recording.
• Meta's smart glasses were recently launched in Japan.
• The EU privacy rules require that people captured by cameras have a meaningful way to object to data collection.