Cybersecurity Policy Report, Texas Investigating Meta Over Privacy Concerns Regarding ‘Smart’ Glasses, (May 21, 2026)

By Tony Foley

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R.) has launched an investigation into Meta Platforms, Inc.’s “smart” glasses amid concerns over Meta’s privacy representations and the capabilities of the glasses to expose the private data of Texas residents.

In a press release yesterday, AG Paxton explained that Meta smart glasses were equipped with cameras, speakers, and other communication tools that enabled wearers to capture and share audio and video from their surroundings.

Meta’s privacy policy notes that the glasses have an “always enabled” mode permitting the device to constantly process video data for use with Meta’s AI (artificial intelligence) products, AG Paxton said.

They have a small light that activates when a device is recording audio and video, but AG Paxton maintained that the indicator was easily hidden and inactive in “always enabled” mode.

AG Paxton cited concerns that individuals at Samasource Impact Sourcing, Inc., a Meta subcontractor with an office in Kenya, were able to access the private information of consumers despite the privacy representations made by Meta, claiming that they had access to video material of users’ private moments, including bathroom visits. While faces appearing in such data are supposed to be automatically blurred, one employee noted that this does not always happen. Finally, AG Paxton cited a New York Times report indicating that Meta intended to bring facial recognition technology to its smart glasses, which he said would allow the company to collect the facial geometry of unsuspecting individuals.

“I will continue to relentlessly stand up to any company that threatens the privacy and safety of Texans,” AG Paxton said. “Meta’s glasses raise serious concerns, and my office will thoroughly investigate these devices to ensure that no individual is being unlawfully recorded, tracked, or subjected to the unauthorized collection of their data.”

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