Facebook smart glasses questioned over privacy issues over small LED indicators

Social networking giant Facebook has always been under scrutiny over privacy issues. A lead privacy regulator in Europe had raised concerns over a pair of smart Ray-Ban glasses by Facebook that is currently on sale. The glasses has a face-mounted camera which can be used to take pictures and short videos with the help of verbal commands. The Data Protection Commission of Ireland on September 17, 2021 has asked the tech giant to demonstrate that the LED indicator mounted on the specs, is a way for other people to notice that they are being recorded by the wearer.

The LED indicator lights up while taking a video or taking a picture. Garante, the privacy agency of Italy has also raised concerns regarding the smart glasses of Facebook. The social networking giant had taken its first step towards augmented reality a year back. The Facebook-Ray-Ban branded specs was launched earlier in September, 2021 and they looked just like any other pair of sunglasses but has a 5 MP camera mounted on the front. It allows the users to take a video of what they are looking at and upload it to a new Facebook app called as View.

Apart from the camera, the sunglasses also have speakers in-built in the frame so the users can also listen to music and pick up phone calls. There is also an LED light mounted in the front and lights up when the video is being recorded. The regulators of Europe have expressed concerns that the LED indicator is too small and is inadequate for alerting people to the risk that they are being recorded.

Facebook has not demonstrated the field testing of the device that might have helped it to assess the privacy risk it could pose. A spokesperson from the social networking site has assured that they would be working together with the regulatory partners to help them understand about how the technology works and what kind of controls they have.

Photo Credits: Time