Meta's latest collaboration with Kylie Jenner, the $399 AI-powered smart glasses, has ignited a wave of criticism from privacy advocates and public figures concerned about their potential for surveillance.
The protest collective Everyone Hates Elon has spearheaded a campaign against the wearable technology, describing the glasses as "fascist" and questioning their necessity. In a demonstration near Meta's London headquarters, the group projected holographic messages onto advertisements, warning that the devices "are always watching." They further amplified their message on Instagram, stating, "Recording everything we see and do constantly? It’s giving fascism, not fashion, @kyliejenner hun."
The group pointed to reports, including one from the Financial Times, that the glasses are designed to "continuously record audio while taking photos every few seconds" without a visible warning light. A spokesperson for Everyone Hates Elon expressed concerns that the technology could be misused to "secretly record women and young people for sexual reasons," calling such potential use "abuse." The collective also highlighted Meta's history of digital privacy issues, asserting that the company now aims to "track us in the real world too."
Singer Lorde also voiced her skepticism regarding wearable tech during a performance at Madrid’s Mad Cool festival, without directly naming Jenner. She cautioned her audience, "Increasingly, in our world, it gets harder and harder to know what is real. Can I just say, for the record, fuck the glasses. Don’t get the glasses. Not sexy."
The criticism centers on the glasses' capacity for constant recording and Meta's track record with user data. Everyone Hates Elon contrasted the development of such technology with unmet societal needs, questioning why "Billionaires could fund cures for cancer ― so why are they funding glasses for perverts instead?"