In the Netherlands and Belgium, one of the chains suspended sales of Meta smart glasses — what they fear
Kyiv • UNN
The Hans Anders chain stopped selling Ray-Ban Meta in the Netherlands and Belgium over privacy concerns. Meta denies the risks of covert recording.
One of the largest Dutch optical retail chains announced on Friday that it was suspending sales of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses in the Netherlands and Belgium amid growing privacy concerns. This is one of the first such moves by a retailer, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
"This decision is driven by ongoing public and political discussions surrounding smart glasses, as well as questions about the conditions for using this technology," a representative of the Hans Anders chain said.
The wave of discontent in the Netherlands over these glasses reflects a broader negative reaction to camera-equipped smart glasses.
In the United Kingdom, pub chain Wetherspoon restricted the use of Meta glasses over concerns about covert recording, while in the United States a lawsuit was filed against Meta and Luxottica alleging that videos recorded with the glasses were viewed by human annotators without the knowledge of those filmed.
A Meta representative said the company continues to develop these popular glasses. "Every camera-equipped pair has a bright indicator on the front that flashes when photos or videos are being recorded; it cannot be disabled, and the camera switches off if someone covers it or interferes with its operation," the company said.
In the Netherlands, the data protection regulator (AP) warned last month that videos recorded with smart glasses in which people can be identified generally may not be shared or published without their permission — obtaining which is quite difficult in a public place.
Consumer rights organization Consumentenbond said this week that it would sue Meta if the company did not redesign the glasses in accordance with privacy protection legislation.
The anti-cyberbullying organization Offlimits also called on Meta and Ray-Ban brand owner EssilorLuxottica on Friday to voluntarily withdraw the glasses from sale until a way is found to prevent covert recording.
Hans Anders is a subsidiary of Nexeye, which is owned by investment firm KKR. Nexeye operates 776 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Sweden. The company does not sell the glasses in the last three countries.