A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Meta, accusing the company of misleading consumers about the privacy features of its Ray-Ban smart glasses. The suit follows a Swedish report revealing that contractors in Kenya reviewed sensitive footage captured by the devices, including bathroom use and intimate moments. Meta has confirmed using human reviewers for some data but claims privacy protections are in place.
A February report by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten, along with Kenyan journalist Naipanoi Lepapa, highlighted privacy concerns with Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses. Based on interviews with over 30 employees at Sama, a Kenya-based subcontractor, the report detailed how workers annotate video, image, and speech data for Meta's AI systems. Several interviewees described viewing sensitive content, such as people using the bathroom or changing clothes.
One anonymous Sama employee said, per a machine translation of the report, “I saw a video where a man puts the glasses on the bedside table and leaves the room. Shortly afterwards, his wife comes in and changes her clothes.” Another noted seeing users' partners emerge from the bathroom naked, adding, “You understand that it is someone’s private life you are looking at, but at the same time you are just expected to carry out the work.” Workers also reported footage of bank cards and pornography, suggesting some users may not realize the glasses are recording despite a flashing red light indicator.
Meta confirmed to the BBC and Engadget that it sometimes shares user content with contractors to improve AI experiences, with data filtered to protect privacy, such as blurring faces. The company's privacy policy states that media is sent to Meta when cloud processing is enabled or when interacting with Meta AI, and it may be reviewed manually or automatically. However, the policy warns against sharing sensitive information.
The report prompted a class-action lawsuit filed on March 5, 2026, in federal court in San Francisco by Clarkson Law Firm against Meta and Luxottica of America. It names two plaintiffs from California and New Jersey who claim they relied on Meta's marketing slogans like “designed for privacy, controlled by you.” The suit alleges false advertising and seeks damages, punitive penalties, and an injunction to change practices, citing risks like emotional distress and identity theft from unreliable anonymization.
Sama stated it complies with GDPR and CCPA, operating in secure facilities with trained staff. The UK's Information Commissioner’s Office has contacted Meta about the issues, amid reports of planned facial recognition additions to the glasses.
