Meta sued over reports of AI glasses showing sexual footage to contract workers

Two U.S. residents who bought Meta’s AI glasses have filed a lawsuit against the social media giant after believing that they were deceived by the company’s advertised promise to protect their privacy.

Meta’s AI glasses—that allow wearers to record footage, translate in real time, make payments, interact with AI, and handle notifications—recently came under the scanner after an investigation by the Swedish news outlets Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) and Goteborgs-Posten (GP) reported that Meta’s contract workers could see some of the glasses wearers’ most private moments as part of their AI data annotation process.

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The lawsuit was brought by California citizen Mateo Canu and New Jersey citizen Gina Bartone, who both bought the Meta AI glasses and believed in Meta’s privacy promises for the device, per a filing dated March 4.

Meta Platforms Inc. and Luxottica of America, Inc. were named as defendants.

“Consumers purchased these Glasses believing Meta’s privacy assurances. They did not, and could not reasonably, understand that their bedrooms, bathrooms, families, bodies, and more would be exposed to strangers around the world. Meta’s conduct violates state consumer protection laws, offends basic notions of privacy, and exemplifies the kind of AI-era surveillance harms that demand accountability,” stated the plaintiffs in their complaint.

Content that workers based in Kenya reportedly saw included sexual encounters and conversations, nudity, pornography, bank information, and even visits to the toilet. Some of these were recorded by accident, without the glasses owners’ knowledge or full awareness, per the Swedish investigation. Meta’s contract employees shared how they were distressed by the content that they had to work with, and complained of unsafe working conditions, reported the outlets.

However, Meta has noted in one set of terms and conditions that other humans may review users’ interactions with its AI.

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“In some cases, Meta will review your interactions with AIs, including the content of your conversations with or messages to AIs, and this review may be automated or manual (human),” stated the company in its AI terms.

In response to rising concerns, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has written to Meta for more information, per a BBC report this week. While Meta told the outlet that it filters users’ data, the Swedish investigation raises serious doubts about how effective these privacy measures are.

“No reasonable consumer would understand “designed for privacy, controlled by you” and similar promises like “built for your privacy” to mean that deeply personal footage from inside their homes would be viewed and catalogued by human workers overseas,” stated the lawsuit filed against Meta.