Privacy Experts Alarmed By Law Enforcement Use of Meta Smart Glasses

A CBP agent wore Meta AI smart glasses during a Los Angeles immigration raid, raising privacy concerns among civil liberties experts and watchdogs.

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent was seen wearing Meta’s AI-powered smart glasses during a June 30 immigration raid outside a Home Depot in Cypress Park, Los Angeles, videos and photos verified by 404 Media reveal.

Meta does not have a contract with CBP, and it’s unclear if the agent recorded any video during the raid.

Experts expressed concern over the use of such technology by law enforcement. Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, told 404 Media:

“There needs to be compliance with rules and laws even if a technology is not handed out through the department. The questions around [smart glasses are ones] we’re going to have to grapple with very soon and they’re pretty alarming.”

Meta’s Ray-Ban AI glasses feature a camera, microphones, live-streaming, and AI capabilities. Though the glasses do not currently have facial recognition, studies show they can be combined with off-the-shelf tools for near real-time identification.

CBP’s policy prohibits the use of personally owned video devices for official recordings. Yet, enforcement of such regulations during immigration raids has weakened under the Trump administration, as noted by 404 Media.

Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the ACLU, said to 404 Media: “Use of cameras can be seen as part of that [intimidation]. It’s in line with the masking that we’ve seen, and generally behavior that’s intended to terrorize people.”

404 Media notes that Meta recently partnered with defense contractor Anduril to provide AI and augmented reality tech to the military. CEO Mark Zuckerberg called smart glasses a future primary way to interact with AI.

Privacy experts warn the presence of such technology on law enforcement agents raises serious civil liberties concerns.