Activists slam “pervert glasses” in new guerrilla campaign
Everyone Hates Elon — Stickers have appeared on the London Underground network, criticising the wearable technology’s covert filming capabilities.
Guerrilla campaigning group Everyone Hates Elon has unveiled a new campaign on the London Underground that criticises Meta smart glasses and their built-in camera technology.
Using blue-and-white notice sticker signs, they highlight the glasses’ capability to facilitate covert filming in public. One sign reads: “Smart glasses. Public shaming of users is encouraged across the London Underground network.”
Meta’s smart glasses were first launched in 2021 in collaboration with Ray-Ban, while in June a new partnership was unveiled with Kylie Jenner. Beyond the controversy over its filming technology, others have pointed towards the tech giant’s controversial record of sharing its users’ data.
In 2022, Meta settled a legal case over the Cambridge Analytica scandal for $725 million, which accused the company of allowing the British firm to access personal data that was used to influence the 2016 US elections. Meta denied any wrongdoing.
The company is also facing a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a set of parents and children in Illinois and California, who allege that the company illegally harvested their Facebook and Instagram photos to train its generative AI models, as well as its yet-unreleased facial recognition system for its glasses, NameTag.
The London Underground stickers are a continuation of Everyone Hates Elon’s work in raising awareness around the wearable technology, having previously hacked a bus stop advertising board with a poster depicting Jeffrey Epstein wearing the glasses.
Commenting on the campaign, a spokesperson for Everyone Hates Elon said: “Tens of thousands have sent legal objections under privacy laws to Meta in the last few days alone. Ads for Ray-Ban x Meta glasses might be appearing everywhere, but most people don’t want pervert glasses that can film us without our consent.
“These glasses are already being used to abuse women. In Brazil, a gynaecologist was arrested for using them while examining a patient,” they continued. “We’re fighting back so that no matter how many celebrities Ray-Ban and Meta get to advertise these glasses, they never become the new normal.”
Follow Everyone Hates Elon on Instagram and donate via its official website.
Isaac Muk is Huck’s digital editor. Follow him on Bluesky.
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