Meta has again attracted the attention of authorities in Europe – this time over alleged privacy violations by its AI smart glasses.
Lawmakers in the European Parliament and the United Kingdom’s data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), have raised concerns after reports in Swedish media that employees sub-contracted by Meta viewed sensitive material recorded by AI glasses.
Reports surfaced for the first time Svenska Dagbladet and focused on the work done by the Gothenburg-Posten newspaper and a company called Saama in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
American company Sama has faced criticism earlier also They were placed in inhumane work environments by requiring them to view and then labeling offensive and violent images, at their labor practices in Africa for allegedly paying substandard wages.
The Swedish outlets say they spoke to more than 30 Saama employees, who reviewed content and annotated data captured by users’ smart glasses to further train the AI and improve the experience.
Sama activists say the nature of the content they saw has caused concern, with Svenska Dagbladet reporting that: “Many of the video content depicted bathroom visits, sex and other intimate moments.”
The report quotes an activist who claims: “We see everything – from living rooms to naked bodies. Meta has that type of material in its database. People can record themselves inaccurately and not even realize what they’re recording.”
In response to the allegations, Meta told the BBC: “When people share content with Meta AI, like other companies, we sometimes use contractors to review this data to improve people’s experience with Glasses, as stated in our Privacy Policy. The data is first filtered to protect people’s privacy.”
However, Swedish media reports suggest that this “filtering”, which may include blurring faces in images, does not always work.
Meanwhile, Meta’s UK AI terms of service state that: “In some cases, Meta will review your interactions with AI… and this review may be automated or human.” But they don’t specify what will actually be reviewed by humans.
This prompted the UK ICO to intervene. In a statement released to the BBC, the Commission said: “Service providers must clearly explain what data is collected and how it is used. The claims in this article are concerning. We will be writing to Meta asking for information on how it is meeting its obligations under UK data protection law.”
Meanwhile, in the EU, media outlet Euractiv informed Members of the European Parliament from 17 countries have written to the European Commission demanding to know what action Meta is prepared to take to ensure compliance with EU data protection rules.
of meta hey glasses Have proven a hit since launch, with global sales tripling to 7 million by 2025 and excitement rising Rivals to play catch-up.
The company has had several other relations with authorities in Europe, increasing your anger On WhatsApp blocking AI chatbots from other companies, being fined Also for mishandling Facebook data breach of obligations Providing consumers with services that use less of their data.
