Senators Demand Answers as Meta Smart Glasses Fuel Privacy Alarms

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey have issued a letter to Meta demanding the company explain the privacy risks associated with its smart glasses, as first reported by 404 Media. The senators' inquiry follows a 404 Media investigation from October 2025 which detailed how influencers used the glasses to film and harass massage parlor workers, uploading the footage to Instagram accounts with millions of views.

According to 404 Media, the senators are specifically concerned that Meta uses imagery captured by the glasses to train AI systems, often involving human reviewers. Wyden and Markey argue that using intimate imagery of unsuspecting bystanders for commercial AI development constitutes an invasion of privacy. This follows reports from Swedish journalists that Kenyan data labelers—represented by the Data Labelers Association in Kenya—were annotating uncensored violent and sexual footage from the glasses, a contract Meta terminated shortly after March.

Further privacy concerns include a January BBC report where a woman recorded by the glasses was stalked at her workplace after her phone number was posted with the video. Additionally, 404 Media reports that more than 70 individuals have sued Meta, alleging their intimate videos were exposed to data labelers. The outlet also notes that some users have modified the glasses to disable the recording indicator light.

In their letter, Wyden and Markey asked Meta to disclose what safeguards exist to prevent the nonconsensual processing of intimate imagery and whether the company evaluated the potential for the glasses to facilitate voyeurism. They also questioned if users can request the deletion of biometric data captured by the devices.