WORLD — Owners of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses have filed two lawsuits against the company over its review of videos recorded through the devices, following reports that the glasses are being used to secretly film members of the public. In one lawsuit, plaintiffs said they had not known such videos had been made, while in the other, plaintiffs said they had not known their videos were being shared by the company for review.

Workers in Kenya tasked with watching videos made through the glasses to create artificial intelligence training data said they were required to view graphic content, including footage of sex and bathroom usage. Meta's terms of service state that users were made aware of the possibility of human review in some circumstances.

Meta has sold seven million pairs of its smart glasses to date, and the devices are estimated to account for more than 80% of all AI or smart glasses sales. The glasses, made in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, retain the classic look of Ray-Bans and feature an almost invisible camera in the frames.

Women leaving beaches, entering shops or standing outside have been approached by men wearing the glasses, who film the women's responses to casual questions or pick-up lines without their knowledge or consent. In one case, the person who posted a secret recording of a woman told her that removing the recording was a paid service.

Mark Smith said the small light that turns on when the glasses are recording appears dim in daylight and often goes unnoticed. Other recorded uses include pranks such as getting people to sign fake petitions or smell candles sprayed with bad odors, and some wearers have stolen food at drive-thrus and recorded their sprint away.

Meta markets the glasses under the tagline "Designed for privacy, controlled by you," which advises users not to record people who state they do not want to be recorded and to turn the glasses off in sensitive spaces. "We have teams dedicated to limiting and combating misuse, but as with any technology, the onus is ultimately on individual people to not actively exploit it," Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton said.

"They're some of the fastest-growing consumer electronics in history," Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said of the glasses. Researchers expect that up to 100 million people will buy a pair of smart glasses in the next few years.