NAIROBI: Kenya is investigating Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses over accusations of storing users' data by recording their daily lives without their knowledge, digital rights group The Oversight Lab said Tuesday.
It follows an investigation by Swedish media outlets Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten in February that alleged images being collected around the world by the glasses – some showing intimate or violent scenes, or confidential data such as bank account numbers – were ending up in Nairobi, where Kenyan employees of a subcontracted company were required to review them, notably to train the artificial intelligence (AI) that powers the devices.
The Oversight Lab asked on March 6 the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) of Kenya to investigate "the mass surveillance capabilities of Ray-Ban Meta glasses and their use for non-consensual recording of intimate images and videos."
It had also asked "the ODPC to investigate the unlawful processing of data to train Meta AI in Kenya," the organisation said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the public body had confirmed it had launched an investigation.
The Oversight Lab also shared a letter it received from the ODPC dated March 11 which stated that "it has already commenced" investigations into the privacy concerns.
"The outcome and further developments will be communicated once the investigations are concluded," the letter said.
Contacted by AFP, the ODPC did not immediately comment.
Smart glasses are booming worldwide, supported by advances in artificial intelligence.
Meta is also facing a lawsuit in the United States over alleged privacy violations linked to its smart glasses and is the subject of an investigation in the United Kingdom, according to The Oversight Lab. – AFP
