New Delhi: Meta is under legal limelight with Ray-Ban smart glasses after a privacy controversy erupted in Delhi. Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses are now facing legal scrutiny in Delhi due to a privacy controversy. A person from Delhi has sent a legal notice to Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Instagram creator, demanding damages of ₹2.05 crore due to the alleged unauthorised capturing of his image at a café, which was later posted on Instagram.
The attack reportedly took place on July 24 at a Costa Coffee store in Khan Market, Delhi. The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) is supporting the man with legal assistance, whom they have dubbed “X”, as he sat alone, approached him.
The man said that it was an uncomfortable situation that soon ensued. He allegedly attempted to wrap up the conversation, moved his seat and told employees at the café. His complaint said that the creator, however, went on with the interaction.
What he didn’t realize then was that the conversation was supposedly being taped with Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The IFF also alleges that the individual(s) who followed the creator took other photographs of the incident without his permission or authorization.
The video was posted two days later on July 26th as an Instagram Reel. The video was claimed to have garnered more than 4.19 lakh views, over 15,700 likes and more than 500 comments.
On July 27, the man posted a comment on Instagram and Meta, begging that the video be deleted. But when it came to Instagram, the initial report from the IFF was that the content was not in violation of Instagram’s Community Standards. This was an important aspect of the legal complaint.
Why is he demanding ₹2.05 crore from Meta?
The peculiarity of the situation is that the man does not only aim the gun at the Instagram creator. He’s also holding Meta responsible in two ways.
Firstly, Meta has Instagram and the complaint states that it continued to host the video even after he reported it.
Secondly, Meta is currently developing and marketing Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The legal notice states that the glasses’ light recording is too faint to make it obvious to others nearby that they are being recorded.
The man is thus demanding a compensation of ₹2.05 crore and deleting the video in addition to a public apology from the named parties in the notice.
It is worth noting that the ₹2.05 crore is a compensation demand and not the amount which the court has ordered Meta to pay. This issue is in the legal-notice phase, and there is no ruling from any court so far that Meta or the creator is legally liable.
The case may be of significance in the future as it brings forth a simple, yet difficult question who is at fault when a person is being recorded on a camera without their knowledge or consent the user, the social media platform or the company which designed the smart glasses?
