Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, said the conversation around Meta glasses shouldn’t be dominated by a small number of “bad actors.”
During an AMA on his personal Instagram, Bosworth answered a question about privacy and Meta glasses.
“I don’t want the discourse to be entirely shaped by this kind of relatively small number of bad actors,” he said. “The majority of people using their glasses are using them in totally normal ways, the way they would use a cell phone camera, but it’s a little more convenient, a little bit more hands-free, a little more in the moment.”
Bosworth also reiterated that the glasses have privacy measures like an indicator light that turns on when you’re recording, and that Meta has anti-tampering features to stop recording if the light is covered.
A recent software update to the glasses closed a loophole people had discovered where, if you started recording, waited a few seconds, and then covered over the light, you could still record. It also meant that people who had drilled out or permanently disabled the light essentially had bricked their devices.
Bosworth also talked about the company’s recent crackdown on harassing content (like pickup artists) filmed with its glasses.
“If we find that content, we’ll take that content down if it’s harassing content. And if we think that this is a person who is doing this systematically, we’ll take the account down,” the exec said.
This summer, Business Insider looked at how this new moderation policy on Instagram was playing out, and found that while some content and accounts had been removed, the moderation has been uneven. And while pickup artist videos were mainly targeted by Meta, prank videos where people torment big box store workers are creating a “workplace menace,” The Verge recently reported.
There’s been a recent wave of backlash to the Meta glasses, which have garnered the nickname “pervert glasses” on social media. While the glasses remain popular, there are examples of the backlash sparking action over the concerns. Norway’s government is forming a group to look into potential regulation around camera glasses, and French prosecutors are looking into a criminal probe involving sexual harassment and smart glasses. And some businesses like nightclubs and restaurants are starting a “no Meta glasses” policy to protect patrons from being recorded without their consent.
It seems that Meta understands that the public perception of “creep glasses” — whether or not it’s truly just a small number of bad actors — is real. The Information reported this week that Meta plans to launch a new camera-free version of the glasses that will just let you use audio and AI features.
The Meta CTO hinted at more AI glasses news around the corner ahead of the company’s Connect conference, which kicks off September 23.
“I feel good about where we are but we’re not stopping, we’re going to continue to invest, and we have more to say at Connect coming up,” he said.
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