“Every activation of the AI features, intentional or accidental, captures video and audio that is transmitted to Meta’s servers, routed overseas, and reviewed by low-paid human workers who watch, label, and embed these moments into Meta’s AI models,” the lawsuit alleges.
Dozens of people who have bought, used or, been filmed by Meta’s “smart glasses” have sued the technology company, claiming that personal images and sensitive videos were sent overseas for human review.
According to The Los Angeles Times, more than 70 people in total have sued Meta.
Together, the plaintiffs—who are seeking class-action certification—say that their smart glasses captured images of them engaging in activities that range from changing clothes and using the bathroom to having sexual intercourse and entering passwords into financial websites. In at least some of the cases, the users were not aware that their glasses were turned on and capturing video.
One California-based plaintiff, identified as PL18 in court documents, said he once discovered that his smart glasses were recording after he placed them on a bathroom counter.
“He noticed that at times photos of his family members using the bathroom and bathing began appearing in his gallery—footage no one in his household intended to take,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit accuses Meta of fraud, false advertising, and violations of multiple state-level consumer protection laws.
Tim Wolfson, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, told The Los Angeles Times that the case also centers on Meta’s ability to surveil people, often without their consent, as they go about their daily lives. Moreover, Meta allegedly scrapes data from users who activate the glasses’ AI features, using collected information to train the company’s own artificial intelligence programs.
“People who bought these glasses and thought that they were cool gadgets weren’t aware that every time they activated AI, video was sent to train Meta’s AI,” said Wolfson.
Meta has since contested the lawsuit’s claims.
“If you use Meta AI, we may review data to help improve our products and people’s experiences—this works the same way as many other companies,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “We take steps to filter this data to help remove identifying information and to protect people’s privacy.”
The Times notes that the lawsuit cites, at length, articles published by two Sweden-based newspapers: Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten. Both publications conducted an investigation into Meta’s smart glasses, involving interviews with more than 30 former Meta employees and subcontractors, the latter hired by Kenya-based Sama.
Some of the interviewed Kenya-based subcontractors said they were asked to review images captured by smart glasses; these images often rendered subjects’ faces, even when they were supposed to be blurred.
“Every activation of the AI features, intentional or accidental, captures video and audio that is transmitted to Meta’s servers, routed overseas, and reviewed by low-paid human workers who watch, label, and embed these moments into Meta’s AI models,” the lawsuit alleges.
Sources
Meta glasses captured and shared intimate images without users’ consent, lawsuit claims
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