European privacy regulators eye Meta's smart glasses

European privacy regulators eye Meta's smart glasses

Hamburg's data protection commissioner suggests wearable could be banned in Germany

Pressure is mounting on Meta and other smart glasses makers as European privacy watchdogs dial up their scrutiny of the everyday-looking wearables.

Such devices, a new category of connected tech that pairs with a smartphone, feature built-in cameras and microphones powered by voice commands and AI for hands-free digital interactions.

A report by the European Data Protection Board on smart glasses is expected by the end of summer, a spokesperson confirmed to Euractiv.

On Friday, the commissioner of Hamburg’s data protection authority (DPA), Thomas Fuchs, warned in an interview with German broadcaster ARD that smart glasses are disguised cameras, saying he believes they could be banned under German law which prohibits recording devices hidden in everyday objects.

Meta’s glasses are equipped with white LED lights that blink to indicate when the device is recording. Hamburg’s DPA has been assessing Meta’s product and is paying particular attention to these lights, a spokesperson told Euractiv, as well as focusing on its use of data for AI training.

But the overall legality of Meta’s smart glasses is a matter for Germany’s telecommunications agency, the spokesperson added. Euractiv has reached out for comment.

Still, the German DPA is not the only privacy enforcer taking a closer look at Meta’s smart glasses: France’s regulator raised concerns back in March.

The CNIL warned that smart glasses are not simply technological tools, saying they pose major risks to privacy due to their “ability to capture, process, and interpret data in real time, without necessarily being known by those around them”.

These risks look very real, with Meta’s product embroiled in controversies – including reports that the device is being used to film people without consent. Women are particularly affected, per reports, with pick-up artists adopting the wearable to covertly film interactions that they post to social media.

Meta claims it’s taken steps to tackle such abuse. In a blog post last month, the tech giant said it had added safeguards that would automatically disable recording if the device detects tampering with the LED lights.

However Meta’s smart glasses also attracted the wrong type of attention in March, when Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Goteborgs-Posten reported that Meta was sending recordings to a contractor in Kenya to annotate for AI training, exposing people’s intimate recordings.

At the time, the Irish DPA – which leads on supervising Meta’s privacy compliance in Europe – said Meta had told it that Europeans’ data was not involved.