Meta says it has discussed privacy concerns with Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog following the local launch of its AI-enabled smart glasses.
The company addressed the issue at a media briefing on 2 November, days after the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) warned that smart glasses could make it easier to collect personal information without people noticing.
Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta AI glasses went on sale in Hong Kong in October, according to the South China Morning Post.
Philip Chua, Meta’s Asia-Pacific public policy director for products, said the company had met the watchdog and continued to work with it to address concerns, the newspaper reported.
Why smart glasses raise privacy questions
Smart glasses can look much like ordinary eyewear while allowing their wearer to take photographs, record video or use AI features. That can make it difficult for people nearby to know whether they are being recorded or how information about them may be used.
Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog issued guidance on 27 October warning about risks including covert recording, excessive collection of personal data and the processing of sensitive information through AI. Local technology publication unwire.hk reported that the watchdog advised users to notify people before recording them and avoid using recording functions in places where privacy is reasonably expected, such as hospitals, clinics and changing rooms.
The guidance also encouraged users to collect only the information they need, avoid excessive or continuous recording, and switch off recording functions when they are not needed.
What Meta says about its recording light
Meta says its glasses have a white capture light that flashes briefly when a photograph is taken and continues to flash while video is being recorded for the wearer’s gallery. The company says the light cannot be switched off and that covering or disabling it automatically disables the camera. Meta’s explanation describes these safeguards as part of its privacy approach.
At the Hong Kong briefing, Meta also said that covering the light during a recording would stop it, according to unwire.hk.
The question of whether recording indicators are sufficiently noticeable has also drawn attention overseas. In October, the European Data Protection Board called for clear, reliable signals so that bystanders can understand when they are being photographed or filmed.
For Hong Kong users, the watchdog’s advice underlines the need to consider the privacy of people around them as well as their own when using the devices.
