Dutch retailer Hans Anders stops Meta Ray-Ban sales over privacy
Hans Anders, a top eyewear chain in the Netherlands and Belgium, has stopped selling Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses.
The move comes as more people worry about privacy and how these glasses could be used to secretly record others.
Hans Anders is one of the first retailers to take this step, and UK pub chain Wetherspoon has also limited their use for similar reasons.
Dutch groups demand Ray-Ban sales pause
Dutch privacy regulator AP has warned against sharing videos that show people without their consent, and Consumer rights group Consumentenbond said it would take Meta to court unless the company changes the glasses to comply with privacy law, while Offlimits, a group that combats online abuse, urged Meta and EssilorLuxottica to voluntarily remove the glasses from sale until a way can be found to make surreptitious recordings impossible.
There is even a lawsuit in the US accusing Meta and Luxottica of accessing videos without permission.
Some organizations want sales paused until these concerns are sorted out.