Meta’s AI-enabled smart glasses are under investigation in Germany after a privacy group filed a criminal complaint, highlighting ongoing clashes between wearable tech innovation and European privacy regulations.
Meta’s AI-enabled smart glasses have been drawn into a criminal complaint in Germany, adding fresh pressure on a product line that has become a test case for how wearable cameras fit within Europe’s privacy rules. The complaint, reported by Politico Europe, says sales of the glasses may breach Germany’s Telecommunications, Digital Services and Data Protection Act and names Meta, the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands that work with it on the devices, as well as several retailers.
According to the complaint, the core objection is not simply that the glasses can record, but that they may be too difficult for bystanders to identify in public spaces. HateAid, the privacy group behind the filing, says such devices should only be sold if they are clearly recognisable and argues for restrictions on recording in places where privacy expectations are high, in a manner similar to rules already used for dashcams and body-worn cameras. Europe’s privacy regulators have also commissioned a report on smart glasses, which is expected to be completed this summer.
Meta has rejected the criticism. Company spokesperson Matthew Pollard told Politico Europe that the glasses were approved by Germany’s regulator, BNetzA, in 2022 and said they were built with privacy safeguards from the ground up that, he claimed, go beyond what smartphones offer. Those safeguards include an LED indicator that lights up when recording starts and anti-tampering technology intended to stop the light being disabled.
The German complaint comes as smart glasses face wider scrutiny across the technology sector. Reporting by TechRadar has described a growing patchwork of restrictions, from courtroom limits in the United States and the United Kingdom to exam bans in South Korea, while a separate U.S. class action has accused Meta and its eyewear partner of collecting and transmitting private footage without adequate disclosure. Taken together, the disputes suggest the market for AI glasses is advancing faster than the legal and ethical framework around them.
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