German Advocacy Group Files Complaint Over Meta AI Glasses
A German digital rights group has filed a criminal complaint against Meta and other companies selling the technology group’s AI glasses in Germany, arguing that the devices breach privacy laws.
Digital rights organisation HateAid said on Wednesday that the launch of the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer, in particular, violated German digital privacy rules. The complaint adds to growing legal scrutiny in a country where privacy rights are highly valued.
“There’s no place to escape from smart glasses. You have to expect at any moment to be filmed and then exposed on the internet,” said HateAid managing director Josephine Ballon.
Complaint Targets Meta And Retailers
HateAid reported Meta’s management, units of spectacles maker EssilorLuxottica, including Ray-Ban, as well as retailers Fielmann, Apollo-Optik, Mister Spex and MediaMarkt to the Frankfurt-based digital crime prosecution unit ZIT.
However, Mister Spex said it had not been officially notified of a complaint. The retailer added that it took privacy protection very seriously.
Meanwhile, the other companies and ZIT did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
HateAid said its complaint relied on a federal digital data protection law. The law prohibits the sale of communication devices designed to film people without their knowledge.
Germany Monitoring Smart Glasses
Germany’s digital communications regulator, the Federal Network Agency, previously issued a statement on smart glasses in late 2023. It said connected devices capable of covert audio or video recording were banned.
The agency, known as BNetzA, told Reuters on Wednesday that it was closely monitoring the smart glasses market. However, it said it was not formally investigating any breaches for now.
“The ownership, import or sale of smart glasses are not banned … for as long as the recording function is clearly visible, for instance via an optical signal,” a spokesperson said.
The comments indicate that the visibility of recording functions remains a key consideration under Germany’s rules.
Privacy Concerns Grow
Broadcaster SWR reported in July that a Hamburg-based state privacy protection agency was taking legal steps over the use of smart glasses.
In addition, HateAid said it had increasingly registered cases of image-based digital violence, mainly targeting women.
The organisation argued that smart glasses create particular concerns because their recording capabilities can be concealed within an everyday object.
“Smart glasses now allow a particularly inconspicuous surveillance technology to be disguised as an everyday object,” HateAid said.
With inputs from Reuters