Hans Anders Suspends Meta Smart Glasses Sales in Europe
Hans Anders halted sales of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses in the Netherlands and Belgium amid growing privacy concerns and regulatory warnings.
Dutch eyewear retailer Hans Anders suspended the sale of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses in its stores and online across the Netherlands and Belgium. The company described the move as a temporary halt to monitor the evolving social and political debate regarding the technology's use.
The decision follows a surge of privacy concerns in the Netherlands. The Dutch Data Protection Authority warned that sharing videos of identifiable people captured by the devices without permission is generally prohibited. In response to these risks, the Dutch Ministry of Defense and several hospitals have already implemented stricter measures against the glasses.
Meta faces increasing pressure from consumer and privacy advocates. The consumer rights group Consumentenbond threatened to take Meta to court over privacy law compliance, while the group Offlimits urged Meta and EssilorLuxottica to voluntarily remove the product from sale to prevent surreptitious recordings.
