What happened

Several instances have emerged where individuals wearing Ray-Ban glasses covertly record themselves entering massage parlours across the US and soliciting workers for sexual services, often without their consent. 

Some of the videos show men discussing specific sex acts and prices with workers, sometimes with workers laughing or dismissing the requests. Others contain highly explicit content or invasive conduct. 

These videos were then shared online, sometimes including the exact location of the parlours visible in the footage, thereby exposing the workers to risks such as law enforcement scrutiny and threats from extremist groups.

Other incidents also surfaced. In one, a man approached women at the University of California campus “with unwanted comments and inappropriate dating questions" and then posted the interactions on TikTok and Instagram without the women's consent. 

In another, a woman noticed her wax specialist wearing Meta glasses during a procedure - an experience she said that "haunted" her.

Why it happened

Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses powerful but discreet recording and AI capabilities, combined with a near-invisible recording feature, enable anyone to covertly film anything and exploit it for whatever purpose they want, including voyeurism, harassment, doxxing and scams.

The culture of recording for attention and social media fame, combined with lack of strict enforcement of privacy regulations, facilitates harmful behaviour. 

At the same time, the relative novelty of the technology means widespread awareness and etiquette around the ethical use of smart glasses remains limited.