Hans Anders halts Meta smart glasses sales over privacy concerns

Key facts

• Hans Anders has suspended sales of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Privacy concerns are cited as the reason for halting sales.
• Dutch privacy regulator AP warned about publishing videos from smart glasses.
• Consumer rights group Consumentenbond threatened legal action against Meta.
• Meta stated its smart glasses have a visible light indicating photo/video recording.

AMSTERDAM, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Hans Anders, a major Dutch eyewear retailer, announced on Friday it has suspended sales of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses in the Netherlands and Belgium due to escalating privacy concerns. This marks one of the first instances of a retailer halting sales of such devices over privacy issues.

The decision by Hans Anders, a subsidiary of Nexeye which operates 776 stores across several European countries, follows a growing public and political debate in the Netherlands regarding the use of smart glasses equipped with cameras. The company cited "questions being raised about the conditions under which this technology can be used" as the reason for its suspension.

Similar concerns have surfaced elsewhere. In Britain, the pub chain Wetherspoon has restricted the use of Meta's glasses, citing worries about covert recording. In the U.S., Meta and Luxottica are facing a lawsuit alleging that videos captured by the glasses were reviewed by human annotators without the knowledge of the individuals filmed.

A Meta spokesperson defended the product, stating that each pair with a camera features a visible light that blinks during photo or video recording, and that the camera is disabled if covered or tampered with. However, the Dutch privacy regulator, AP, previously warned that videos made with smart glasses that show identifiable people cannot generally be shared or published without consent, which is difficult to obtain in public spaces.

Further pressure is mounting as the consumer rights group Consumentenbond has indicated it will pursue legal action against Meta unless the company modifies the glasses to comply with privacy laws. Additionally, the group Offlimits has called on Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica to voluntarily withdraw the glasses from sale until measures are in place to prevent surreptitious recordings.