BanRay.eu: The Campaign Against Meta's Always-On AI Glasses and Mass Surveillance
Your Face Is Not Inventory — The Fight Against Always-On AI Glasses
A Swedish advocacy campaign called BanRay.eu has launched to raise awareness about what it calls 'the terrible idea' of always-on AI camera glasses. The campaign targets Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, which sold over 7 million pairs in 2025.
The Privacy Nightmare
A joint investigation by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Goteborgs-Posten revealed disturbing findings about Meta's Ray-Ban glasses:
- Data sent to Kenya — Footage is sent to Sama, a subcontractor in Nairobi, for human review
- Explicit content reviewed — Workers describe reviewing videos of people undressing, using toilets, having sex, and entering credit card details
- No opt-out — The AI feature that enables this cannot be turned off
- Deceptive marketing — The product page still says 'Designed for privacy, controlled by you' in bold
Three Key Issues
1. You Don't Know What Happens to the Data
Network analysis by journalists found constant communication with Meta servers, contradicting what optical store employees tell customers. Meta refuses to answer specific questions about where footage goes.
2. Private Spaces No Longer Exist
When someone wearing these glasses enters your kitchen, bedroom, doctor's office, or place of worship, everyone in range becomes raw material for AI training. A worker described finding footage from a man who left glasses on his bedside table while his wife undressed.
3. Surveillance as Assistive Technology Trojan Horse
Meta markets glasses as assistive technology for people with low vision, but internal documents show plans to launch facial recognition at a conference for the blind before rolling it out publicly.
Former Meta Employees Speak Out
Anonymization protocols fail under certain lighting conditions, meaning faces remain identifiable despite claimed privacy protections.
The Campaign's Goal
BanRay.eu advocates for clear regulation of always-on camera devices, transparency requirements, and meaningful consent for people being recorded — not just those doing the recording.