Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses are running into their biggest obstacle yet — and it is not a technical one. On October 6, Dutch eyewear retailer Hans Anders suspended sales of the Meta Ray-Ban glasses indefinitely across its roughly 400 stores in the Netherlands and Belgium, making it the first retailer reported to pull the product over privacy concerns. A spokesperson told Reuters the decision follows "the ongoing public and political debate surrounding smart glasses and the questions being raised about the conditions under which this technology can be used."
The backdrop is grim. Dutch media have reported that Meta's smart glasses have been used to secretly film "hundreds, maybe thousands" of women, with footage circulating in Telegram groups — exactly the covert-recording scenario critics warned about when a camera stopped looking like a camera. Earlier in September, the Dutch consumer group Consumentenbond threatened to take Meta to court if it failed to comply with the law. The backlash is not limited to the Netherlands: in Britain, pub chain Wetherspoon has restricted the glasses in its pubs, and in California, Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a bill that would have penalized covert smart-glass recording in private spaces.
Meanwhile, Norway is going further than any retailer could. The Norwegian government has proposed a temporary ban on camera-enabled smart glasses in selected public spaces — parks, beaches, museums, schools, kindergartens, shopping centers, gyms, healthcare facilities, and public events — with exceptions carved out for vulnerable groups and socially beneficial uses like accessibility tools. Privacy International called the move "a welcome protection," while Norwegian officials say the proposal is a high priority.
Meta's defense is the hardware itself: every pair has a bright LED that blinks while recording, it cannot be turned off, and the camera disables itself if the light is covered or tampered with. Critics counter that a tiny light on a pair of sunglasses is easy to miss on a busy street — which is the entire point for someone filming covertly. Meta says it continues to improve the glasses and advises users to respect bystanders' preferences.
The irony is sharp. Just as the privacy debate peaks, Meta launched camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses at $349 — a privacy-conscious alternative that keeps the AI and audio smarts while leaving the camera behind. Whether that is an admission that the camera was the problem or simply portfolio strategy, the message from Europe is clear: the glasses were winning on technology, and they are losing on trust.