The European Commission on Tuesday exempted wearable technologies from regulations requiring removable batteries, eliminating a significant barrier to the launch of Meta’s smart glasses in the EU market amid pressure from the United States.
This decision comes despite ongoing scrutiny from European regulators and legislators regarding privacy and surveillance concerns surrounding smart glasses. EU battery regulations have delayed the release of Meta’s latest model in the EU in recent months, as the built-in batteries in the glasses cannot be easily removed or replaced.
US Pressure and the Commission’s Position
US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder defended Meta at an event in March, describing the EU rules as “so broad and restrictive that they prevent the sale of this wonderful, jointly developed American-European product in the European Union”. He also called the smart glasses “very stylish” and “very wonderful”, adding that “we need to focus on allowing business to grow and innovate”.
On Tuesday, the Commission introduced a legislative amendment, known as a delegated act, which exempts connected products—including smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness trackers, and electric toys—from battery regulations. A Commission representative stated it “has not succumbed to anyone’s pressure” and that its proposals “are the result of broad public consultations with consumer associations, industry stakeholders, and member states”. The exemption proposal “does not concern the regulation of one specific product”, but aims to “ensure safer consumer and industrial products in cases where disassembling the device may create safety risks or where technical limitations make consumer access unrealistic”.
The European Parliament and national governments have 20 days to object to this amendment; if they do not, the bill will take effect.
Benefits for Meta and Privacy Concerns
This change presents a significant advantage for Meta, which has heavily invested in new glasses technology but has faced challenges entering the European market with its appealing product. The battery rule exemption could also benefit other companies such as Samsung, Google, and Apple, which are planning their own smart glasses launches.
Previously, financial results from the French-Italian glasses manufacturer EssilorLuxottica, which owns the Ray-Ban brand, indicated that sales of Meta smart glasses are growing “exponentially” in the US. Although Meta launched its AI glasses in the EU, financial results suggest that the expansion of its sales network in the EMEA region is still slow, with “more than half” of retail outlets not yet covered by sales. In 2025, over 7 million pairs of Meta smart glasses were sold worldwide.
Despite the change in battery rules, smart glasses continue to face strong opposition due to privacy concerns. Claudio Teixeira, head of the digital policy department at the largest European consumer rights group BEUC, stated: “Europe should not weaken consumer protection. Smart glasses already raise important concerns about privacy, security, and consumer choice. Exceptions to EU rules on battery removability should remain just that: real exceptions, based on clear technical and safety evidence, not industry pressure. Exempting these devices… risks creating a dangerous precedent.”
History of Privacy Issues and Regulators’ Response
When Meta launched the first version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses in Europe in 2021, the product immediately raised concerns among Irish and Italian personal data protection regulators regarding whether it was clear enough to people that they were being filmed. Earlier this year, concerns resurfaced when Swedish media reported that Meta‘s subcontractors in Kenya were reviewing “deeply private” footage captured by the company’s smart glasses to tag data for training artificial intelligence models. This included recordings of bathroom visits, banking data, and even sexual encounters.
The European Data Protection Board, which unites personal data protection regulators across Europe, commissioned a report on smart glasses to be completed this summer, POLITICO previously reported board chair Anu Talus. She added that the board will consider further action after that.
A Meta representative told POLITICO last month that its glasses include built-in privacy protections and that the company has “teams dedicated to developing these measures so that we can continue to provide safe and secure products that improve people’s lives”. Unlike smartphones, Meta‘s glasses feature an LED indicator that activates when the user requests the glasses to take a photo or video that will be saved in their gallery. The glasses are equipped with tamper detection technology to prevent this light from being obstructed. “If users do not choose to share the media they have taken with Meta, this media also remains on the device,” they added.
Source: Politico
