Hans Anders Halts Meta Smart Glasses Sales Over Privacy Concerns
AMSTERDAM: Hans Anders, one of the biggest eyewear retailers in the Netherlands, has pulled Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses from its shelves in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The company announced the suspension on Friday, October 2, making it among the first retailers to take such a step.
A Hans Anders spokesperson linked the decision to the public and political debate over smart glasses, and to unresolved questions about the conditions under which the technology should be used.
Why the Pressure Is Building in the Netherlands
Dutch authorities and consumer groups have been increasingly vocal in recent weeks:
- Data protection regulator (AP): Last month, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens warned that footage showing identifiable people generally cannot be shared or published without their consent. In a public place, getting that consent is hard in practice.
- Consumentenbond: The consumer rights organisation said this week it will take Meta to court unless the glasses are modified to comply with privacy law.
- Offlimits: The group, which fights online abuse, called on Meta and Ray-Ban’s parent company EssilorLuxottica to voluntarily stop sales until covert recording can be made impossible.
EssilorLuxottica could not be reached for comment at the time of reporting.
Meta’s Response
Meta said it will continue developing the glasses. A company spokesperson pointed to built-in safeguards: every camera-equipped pair has a bright front light that blinks during photo or video capture. According to Meta, this light cannot be switched off, and the camera stops working if someone covers or tampers with it.
A Wider Global Backlash
The Dutch reaction is part of a larger pushback against camera-equipped smart glasses. In Britain, pub chain Wetherspoon has restricted their use over fears of secret filming. In the United States, Meta and Luxottica face a lawsuit alleging that human reviewers watched videos captured by the glasses without the knowledge of the people being filmed.
About Hans Anders
Hans Anders is part of Nexeye, a group owned by private equity firm KKR. Nexeye runs 776 stores across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Sweden. The glasses were not sold in the last three of those countries, so the suspension affects only the Dutch and Belgian stores.
