Kenyan authorities have launched an investigation into Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses following allegations that the devices secretly collected and stored users’ personal data worldwide.
The inquiry comes after digital rights organisation The Oversight Lab raised concerns about possible privacy violations linked to recordings captured through the artificial intelligence-powered wearable technology.
According to the group, the glasses may record daily activities without users’ knowledge, potentially creating a vast archive of images gathered without meaningful consent.
The allegations gained momentum after a February investigation by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten uncovered troubling claims about how collected images were processed.
Their reporting suggested photographs captured globally, including intimate scenes, violent moments, and confidential financial information, were routed to Nairobi for human review and analysis.
Kenyan employees working for a subcontracted company were reportedly tasked with reviewing the images to help train the artificial intelligence systems powering the smart glasses.
The Oversight Lab formally requested Kenya’s Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on March 6 to examine what it described as the devices’ “mass surveillance capabilities.”
The organisation also urged authorities to investigate whether intimate photos and videos were recorded without consent and unlawfully processed to improve Meta’s artificial intelligence models.
In a statement released Tuesday, the group confirmed that the data protection authority had acknowledged the complaint and initiated a formal investigation into the matter.
The Oversight Lab shared a March 11 letter from the regulator confirming that inquiries had already begun into potential breaches of data protection and privacy rules.
“The outcome and further developments will be communicated once the investigations are concluded,” the letter stated, offering little detail about the scope or timeline of the probe.
When contacted for comment, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner did not immediately respond, leaving key questions about enforcement measures unanswered.
The controversy arrives as smart glasses surge in popularity worldwide, fuelled by rapid advances in artificial intelligence and growing consumer curiosity about wearable technology.
Supporters describe the devices as a glimpse into a connected future, while critics warn they may blur the fragile boundary between convenience and constant surveillance.
Meta, the company behind the glasses, is already facing legal scrutiny elsewhere over similar privacy concerns tied to its emerging hardware ecosystem.
The Oversight Lab said lawsuits in the United States and a separate investigation in the United Kingdom are examining alleged privacy violations connected to the same technology.
Together, the investigations reflect mounting global unease over how artificial intelligence systems gather data and whether users truly understand what is being recorded.
As regulators examine the claims, the case highlights a broader dilemma facing modern societies: innovation advancing faster than the rules designed to protect personal privacy.
For now, Kenyan investigators hold a crucial piece of that debate, determining whether the promise of smart technology has crossed into unseen surveillance.