Dutch Retailer Hans Anders Pulls Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Over Covert Camera Privacy Fears

Meta's smart glasses just lost a major store shelf in Europe. Hans Anders, one of the largest eyewear chains in the Netherlands and Belgium, has suspended sales of Meta Ray-Ban glasses in both countries over privacy concerns.

The glasses are gone from stores and from the chain's website. A spokesperson said the decision follows the ongoing public and political debate about the conditions under which the technology can be used, and that Hans Anders will reassess once that debate settles.

Hans Anders is not a boutique making a statement. Hans Anders belongs to the KKR-backed Nexeye group and runs roughly 400 stores across the two countries, part of a parent network of about 776 locations in five countries. When a retailer that size decides a product is too hot to sell, the problem has moved past early-adopter grumbling.

The footage problem

The backdrop is ugly. Dutch media have reported that hundreds, possibly thousands, of women were secretly filmed with the glasses, with the clips circulating in Telegram groups. That is the exact scenario critics warned about when a camera stopped looking like a camera.

Meta's defense is the hardware itself. The company says every pair has a bright LED that blinks while recording, that it cannot be turned off, and that the camera disables if the light is covered. Critics counter that a tiny light on a pair of sunglasses is easy to miss on a busy street, which is the whole point for someone filming covertly.

A wider backlash

Hans Anders is not acting alone. Business Insider reports that online retailer Wehkamp also paused sales, and a Dutch consumer group has called for an outright ban. Digital rights group Bits of Freedom made the point bluntly by filming Meta employees with the glasses, and Meta removed the resulting Instagram clip as harassment.

Outside the Netherlands, venues have been drawing their own lines. UK pub chain Wetherspoons, Soho House and ATG theatres have restricted use, while Hamburg's parliament has backed a resolution on banning the glasses in some public spaces.

In the US the fight has played out in legislatures rather than shops, as when California's governor vetoed a bill targeting secret smart-glasses recording. It fits a broader pattern of devices and software quietly gaining more reach into private life, from always-on cameras to AI agents asking for full disk access on the Mac.

For now, the Dutch answer is simpler. If the rules for filming strangers are unclear, one of the country's biggest opticians would rather not sell the camera at all.