Overview
- HateAid filed a criminal complaint on Wednesday, Aug. 12, naming Meta, eyewear partner units of EssilorLuxottica and German retailers and asking prosecutors to investigate whether the devices breach Germany’s digital privacy laws.
- Germany’s telecoms regulator BNetzA says connected devices made for covert audio or video recording are banned but that ownership or sale is allowed when the recording function is clearly visible, for example via an optical LED indicator.
- Courts in England and Wales have ordered that Meta smart glasses be confiscated at entry to judicial buildings after a High Court judge found a litigant had been assisted via smart glasses during cross-examination.
- Meta has pushed a mandatory firmware update that disables the camera if the glasses detect physical tampering or blocking of the capture LED and says the devices include an automatic recording indicator.
- The complaint follows months of reporting on point-of-view clips and image-based abuse, broad consumer uptake including millions sold and cheaper knockoffs, and a Europe-wide privacy review that regulators are finalising this summer.