Meta’s Ray Ban smart glasses are cool and you will find it hard to tell from the regular glasses people wear. But the company is facing heat for its obvious privacy-related issues and when a camera is openly
recording people, the lawsuits are going to fly through the corridors of the courts.
We have one such instance reported in Delhi, India recently, where a man sent a legal notice to Meta and Instagram for being secretly recorded using their smart glasses at a cafe in the capital city.
That’s not all, the said video of the person has reportedly garnered over 4 lakh views on Instagram as a reel that was posted on July 26. The lawsuit had asked for removal of this video, an apology from the creator and Rs 2.05 crore in damages.
Smart Glasses Courting Privacy Risks
Cases like these are exactly what people have feared about the use of these smart glasses, especially when a creator can benefit/monetise such content and earn money on the back of recording someone without even seeking their consent. This case in Delhi is even more troubling because the redressal process doesn’t see such recordings as violations and Meta didn’t even respond. It was only after a few days that Instagram responded to the complaints of the victim.
Lack Of Rules Pose Bigger Worries
The worrying part about this case is that Meta’s smart glasses might have already been used by other people, who have recorded others in the same manner. But not everyone is going to have the time or put the effort to get it legally challenged. And even if they do, the rules are not clear about capturing data in the public and these glasses worn by a person end up recording every action or instance around them.
Smart glasses are here to stay but Meta is raising more questions about its use, and forcing its rivals to rethink their own product roadmap.
Having a red dot light up when the video is recording is not going to be evident to everyone. Apple wants to make these glasses because people like them but rest assured its privacy focus will give it a better chance to succeed without major lapses.
