Meta is facing criticism for terminating a major contract with Kenya-based company Sama, which was training its AI using videos captured by Meta’s smart glasses. Employees of Sama revealed to Swedish media that they had viewed intimate images recorded by the glasses’ users. Less than two months after these revelations, Meta ended the partnership, resulting in the layoff of 1,108 workers. Meta justified its decision by citing Sama’s failure to meet standards, a claim Sama strongly denies, insisting it had always complied with the requirements.
A Kenyan workers’ rights organization, however, accuses Meta of acting to silence the testimonies. Regulators, including the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Kenya’s Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, have launched investigations into the privacy risks. These glasses, developed in collaboration with Ray-Ban, have raised growing concerns about potential misuse, despite their innovative features such as translation and assistance for the visually impaired.