Meta sparks privacy fears with smart glasses, hidden cameras

Meta sparks privacy fears with smart glasses, hidden cameras
Date: 5.10.2023 16:30

Glasses with camera features allow users to record people, their environments and their private lives without permission, and stream them live via platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

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The new generation smart glasses, produced by the US technology company Meta in collaboration with Ray-Ban and capable of live broadcasting on Facebook and Instagram platforms, have sparked privacy debates because they allow people to transmit their images and environments without permission.
 
According to the information compiled by the AA correspondent, the company's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recently introduced the new generation smart glasses. Although the glasses look ordinary from the outside, they have the ability to broadcast live. In the presentation, it was stated that the smart device is planned to go on sale on October 17 with a tag price of $ 299.
 
While the battery life of the smart glasses is stated as 6 hours, it is stated that the device can continue to be used as normal glasses when the battery is exhausted.
 
On the other hand, the fact that the glasses allow users to record people, their environments and their private lives without permission, and to stream them live via platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, has started a debate on privacy and digital ethics.
 
It is stated that glasses may cause problems due to the risk of information leakage and security risks in private meetings and interviews. It is emphasized that the legal regulations in this field should be prepared by taking these innovations into consideration.
 
Prof. Dr. Levent Eraslan, President of Turkey Metaverse Platform, told the AA correspondent that the glasses were designed with an aesthetic approach similar to those that can be used daily, but some of their features caused privacy concerns.
 
Eraslan, who also serves as the President of the Social Media and Digital Security Education Research Center (SODİMER), stated that the glasses produced were made by taking aesthetic concerns into consideration, unlike previous experiments.
 
"When we say smart glasses, there are no longer thick and large designs as in the past. It has been replaced by designs and alternative models that we can easily use in daily life. The new generation smart glasses introduced by Meta are the latest example of this," Eraslan said.
 
Pointing out that Meta's glasses allow users to monitor and record their surroundings, Eraslan said, "This situation may violate confidentiality. In addition, with the feature of live broadcasting via Facebook and Instagram platforms, recording and taking images can be carried out without the knowledge and consent of the surrounding people. Therefore, there must be ethical responsibilities regarding permissions and rules regarding the use of these devices."
 

"THERE ARE LEGAL GAPS IN THE USE AND PRODUCTION OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES"

 
Eraslan emphasized that there are legal gaps in the field of wearable technology in terms of both production and use, that there are currently no regulations to prevent these gaps, and Meta benefits from this.
 
"It can be very useful to see an object or person scanned by the glasses. Perhaps it is something that is also very useful for intelligence services. Of course, it can be useful, but the important thing here is how to protect private space along with privacy and personal information," Eraslan added.
 

"ATTEMPT TO REVIVE THE METAVERSE"

 
Stating that the concept of "brain internet", in which people can connect to the internet with chips, will be an important topic of discussion in the coming years, Eraslan said that this situation will bring the concept of digital ethics back to the agenda.
 
Reminding that the new generation smart glasses project has been tried before, Eraslan said, "What he puts differently on top of this is important. Because that project couldn't make sales, and because it couldn't, it was shelved. Let's try it and see, but it can be predicted that it will give better results than those big glasses. People did not want to use large glasses in daily life due to neck pain and deformities. In that sense, perhaps I see this project as an important work when considered as an attempt to revive the Metaverse."

YEREL HABERLER

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