Privacy Backlash Threatens Meta and EssilorLuxottica Smart Glasses

Privacy and surveillance concerns are creating a growing public backlash against the AI-wearables market, specifically targeting the partnership between Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica. Despite selling more than 7 million Ray-Ban Meta glasses in 2025, the devices face criticism for allowing users to film others without consent. Critics argue the glasses are indistinguishable from standard eyewear and that integrated warning lights can be easily covered or bypassed.

Advocacy groups and public figures in the United Kingdom and United States have encouraged boycotts of the product. In Germany, the nonprofit HateAid has urged authorities to mandate that such devices be clearly identifiable to ensure safety by design.

Bernstein analyst Luca Solca noted that the public has dubbed the devices "pervert glasses." Solca suggests that while the backlash threatens the smart glasses boom, it may paradoxically benefit EssilorLuxottica's long-term economics by preventing low-margin consumer electronics from cannibalizing the traditional high-margin eyewear market.