Ray-Ban Meta glasses take off but face privacy and competition test

EssilorLuxottica is betting big on smart eyewear and the gamble is about to be tested.

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Its RayBan Meta glasses, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), have delivered their first meaningful revenue boost this year, but analysts warn that privacy concerns and a wave of new rivals could limit their growth.

The frames, launched in 2021, promise to upend the smartphone era by letting wearers take photos and videos through tiny cameras in the lenses, stream content to Meta apps and talk to an AI assistant.

Yet the same features that promise to make the AI-powered frames — born from the collaboration between Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and French-Italian eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica — into a must-have device are sparking concerns, as bystanders have little control over being recorded or how their data is handled.

“AI smart glasses raise significant privacy concerns,” said Kleanthi Sardeli, a lawyer at European digital rights advocacy group NOYB. “The main issues are linked to the use of people’s personal data to train AI models and transparency for bystanders.”

Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and generates the bulk of its revenue from advertising, is leveraging user data to power artificial intelligence tools, a move that brought the company to face scrutiny over data practices.

REGULATORY SCRUTINY IN EUROPE

European regulators have flagged risks since 2021, when Italy and Ireland asked Meta to clarify how it complied with local privacy laws.