The Digester

UK watchdog asks Meta about reports workers viewed private Ray-Ban Meta glasses footage

Mar 5th 2026

The Information Commissioner’s Office has contacted Meta after a Swedish investigation said outsourced annotators sometimes viewed sensitive footage from Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, raising questions about transparency and data protection.

  • The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has written to Meta after Swedish papers Svenska Dagbladet and Goteborgs-Posten reported subcontracted workers viewed smart glasses footage.
  • Reporters say Kenya-based annotators sometimes saw intimate videos and images while reviewing content used to train Meta’s AI.
  • Meta says contractors may review content that users share with Meta to improve services and that media stays on the user’s device unless shared.
  • Meta says privacy filters such as face blurring are applied but can fail, which may leave people identifiable in some clips.
  • The subcontractor Sama says reviews are done in secure, access controlled facilities with staff training and background checks.
  • The ICO said smart glasses must clearly explain what data is collected and how it is used and will request information from Meta on compliance

Sources

bbc.com