Meta removes video of Dutch privacy group wearing smart glasses to Meta office, cites harassment

A Dutch non-profit just proved how undesirable Meta glasses really are as Mark Zuckerberg’s own employees cower away from the camera. Meta removed the video from Instagram shortly after.

Bits of Freedom, a Dutch non-profit focused on digital rights and user privacy, decided to give Meta a taste of its own medicine by invading the privacy of its employees.

The non-profit descended on one of Meta’s offices in the Netherlands to ask employees how they like the glasses.

Many people in the video showed contempt for the glasses, with some people asking them to “stop recording.”

Bits of Freedom was later approached by security, which said they were receiving reports that a man was wearing Meta glasses and asking people questions.

“People weren’t too happy about it,” the security guard said in Dutch.

The organization isn’t happy about Meta glasses either. Bits of Freedom has been campaigning to keep “peeping glasses” off the streets.

Since last year, Meta’s AI Ray-Bans have been available for purchase in physical stores in the Netherlands, and, according to Bits of Freedom, sales went through the roof.

The glasses have allowed men to film women without their consent and have led to thousands of videos surfacing online.

Not only have Meta glasses been used to film women on the streets, but they’ve also been used to record unsuspecting victims in more intimate settings, like saunas or the beach, where women’s bodies may be more exposed.

While the filming itself is a concern, Bits of Freedom also raises the issue of where that footage goes.

“You have no control over what Meta subsequently does with all that collected data. Given Meta's reputation regarding privacy, we shouldn't take its word for it.”

So, to protect the public’s privacy from “scoundrels,” Bits of Freedom wants a nationwide ban on pervert glasses.

And until then, Bits of Freedom is calling on entrepreneurs, businesses, and organizations to take matters into their own hands.

“Shops, clubs, or schools can already protect people from this humiliating form of technology,” it urges.

One venue in Utrecht has already taken steps to ban Meta glasses.

Meta removes video from Instagram

Shortly after it was published, Roel Maalderink posted a video to his Instagram account, stating that Meta had removed it.

In his response video, Maalderink explains that he went to Meta’s office in the Netherlands wearing Meta glasses to see how the employees felt about being filmed.

Meta has removed the video because it deems it a form of harassment. However, non-consensual videos of women taken with Meta glasses continue to proliferate on its platforms.

Notably, the video blurred individuals' faces. Despite this, Meta still deems this behavior as harassment.

Global campaign against Meta glasses

This isn’t just happening in the Netherlands. It's happening all over the world. In the UK, venues have banned pervert glasses, and French authorities are investigating Meta over glasses harassment claims.

Various complaints have been filed against Meta, including a criminal complaint by a German advocacy group alleging violations of privacy laws.

Privacy anxieties intensify despite Meta updating its glasses to prevent people from being recorded without their consent.

Authorities in the US are concerned that they’ll be secretly recorded inside detention facilities or could be used to facilitate terror attacks, raising concerns of counterintelligence.