Meta smart glasses: fashion trend or privacy nightmare? Sky News explains

[Elizabeth_14]

Sky News has put out an explainer on Meta's smart glasses asking whether they are a fashion trend or a privacy nightmare. It comes at a time when the Ray-Ban Meta glasses have become a genuine hit, with millions sold and a new third generation just launched. They look like normal sunglasses, but have a camera, microphones, speakers and Meta's AI assistant built in. That is exactly why so many people are uneasy about them

The backlash in the UK has been growing. Jeremy King's restaurants have banned them outright, Soho House has added them to its existing filming ban, and ATG Theatres asks people to take them off during shows. Wetherspoons has gone for a middle ground, allowing the glasses but barring customers from recording staff or other drinkers without consent. There is also a parliamentary petition calling for a ban on sales

Europe is paying attention too. The European Data Protection Board is preparing a report on smart glasses, and Germany's data protection commissioner has suggested camera glasses may already breach laws on hidden recording devices. France's privacy regulator has raised concerns, and campaign groups in the Netherlands want action. People are still being filmed without realising, and some of those clips end up online

Meta's main safeguard is a small light that comes on when the camera is recording, and the camera is disabled if someone tries to cover it. Critics say that is nowhere near enough, because most people have no idea what the light means, and in bright sunlight it is easy to miss. Meta has also launched the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, which has no camera at all, which feels like a quiet admission of the problem

I can see why people like them. Taking photos and listening to music hands free is convenient, and they look far better than Google Glass ever did. But I would feel uncomfortable talking to someone who might be recording me without me knowing. Would you wear a pair, and should pubs and restaurants be allowed to ban them?

Meta Glasses Explained Fashion Trend Or Privacy Nightmare 13591926news.sky.com

[TheLegendBrett88]

Germany saying these might count as hidden recording devices is a big deal. Their privacy laws are strict and they enforce them. If that view spreads across the EU, Meta could be forced to change the design

That would ripple out to the UK too, sooner or later. Meta will be watching closely