In a legal challenge that puts wearable recording tech and personal privacy directly under the microscope, a Delhi resident has slapped tech giant Meta Platforms and an Instagram influencer with a ₹2.05 crore legal notice. The dispute began after the man was secretly filmed at a cafe in New Delhi's Khan Market using camera-fitted Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The notice, drafted pro bono by tech lawyer Apar Gupta with backing from the Internet Freedom Foundation, accuses the creator of harassment and non-consensual filming while holding Meta responsible for design flaws that let users record people unnoticed in public spaces.
The episode unfolded on an evening when the complainant, identified in legal papers as Mr. X, was sitting by himself at the cafe. An unfamiliar person walked up to his table uninvited, making intrusive remarks and asking uncomfortable questions. Even after the resident clearly asked him to back off, alerted the cafe staff, and moved to another table, the individual kept following him around. What the victim did not realize was that the entire encounter was being captured through standard-looking optical glasses, with helpers filming from other angles around the room. Two days later, the edited clip was posted as an Instagram Reel, racking up hundreds of thousands of views and leaving him open to online mocking and unwanted attention.
When he discovered the video doing the rounds on social media, the man immediately reported it through Instagram's standard reporting tools for harassment and privacy violations. However, the automated moderation system turned down the requests, claiming the clip did not violate any community guidelines. A formal grievance sent to Meta's India grievance officer also hit a dead end, highlighting the platform's struggle to tackle non-consensual public recordings. The creator's verified account, which has over two lakh followers, regularly posts videos centered on approaching strangers in public places to drive viral traffic.
Beyond the creator's actions, the notice takes aim at Meta over product liability and hardware design. It argues that the Ray-Ban smart glasses are built to look like ordinary eyewear, relying on a tiny LED dot to indicate when recording is active. In normal indoor lighting, that light is barely visible to anyone nearby, making stealth recording far too easy. While Meta has pointed out that the glasses feature permanent LED lights that stop recording if covered, privacy advocates argue that a barely noticeable light falls short of giving people genuine notice or a chance to consent.
The notice demands the immediate removal of the video, an unconditional public apology, the preservation of all backend device and metadata logs, and ₹2.05 crore in damages for mental agony and reputational harm. With privacy recognized as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution alongside provisions in the IT Act and data protection rules, the case could set a crucial precedent for how Indian courts deal with wearable surveillance and everyday digital privacy.