A class-action lawsuit filed in the United States accuses Meta of misleading consumers about the privacy risks associated with its Meta AI smart glasses. Meta has not yet filed a formal response to the complaint. However, the company continues to say in its marketing materials and public statements that the glasses were designed with privacy in mind.
Users allege Meta AI glasses pose privacy risks
Meta has introduced updates intended to prevent some smart-glasses users from bypassing the primary safeguard against covert recording: the built-in recording indicator light. The company has also launched a new advertising campaign highlighting the purpose of the LED light, according to The Verge.
In Los Angeles, for example, one advertisement shows a smiling girl wearing Meta AI glasses, with her finger pointing toward the recording light shining beside her face. The campaign states, “A camera allows you to capture the moment. Light makes the moment known to those around you.”
The advertisement also carries the message, “Designed for everyone,” followed by the explanation, “It’s not just the person wearing it.”
However, privacy advocates and European regulators have questioned whether people who see the campaign clearly understand that Meta AI glasses may be recording when the indicator light is illuminated.
Consumers who relied on Meta’s privacy claims and are now participating in the lawsuit argue that the company has promoted the same message for years. Earlier advertisements described the Meta AI glasses as being “built for your privacy and the privacy of others, too.” The complaint alleges that this promise is misleading because users have limited control over how their data—and the data of people nearby—is collected and processed.
Although the class-action complaint does not focus exclusively on non-consensual recordings, it argues that Meta’s marketing fails to explain important details about how footage captured by the glasses is handled.
The lawsuit specifically challenges Meta’s claims that users control their data. According to the complaint, Meta does not adequately disclose that human data annotators in Kenya may review footage recorded by the glasses to help train Meta AI. The lawsuit alleges that this review has included highly personal material, including videos depicting sexual activity and bathroom visits, as well as sensitive information such as credit card details and private text messages.
Source: arstechnica.com