Meta removes widely viewed video criticizing its AI glasses after Amsterdam filming

Meta has removed a satirical video about its Meta AI glasses from Instagram. The clip was made by Bits of Freedom, a Dutch digital rights organisation, together with the Dutch programme maker Roel Maalderink, who visited Meta's Amsterdam office to interview employees and ask what they themselves thought of the glasses while wearing them.

A popular clip, then a takedown

According to Bits of Freedom, Meta said the video did not align with its guidelines and pointed to alleged elements of bullying and intimidation. Every employee in the video had their face blurred and was rendered unrecognisable. Before it was removed, the clip gathered around half a million views across social media platforms, Instagram included.

Roel Maalderink said the decision left him stunned. He has been making satirical videos for ten years, on subjects ranging from Gaza and Ukraine to refugees, and had never seen one taken down. The clip was widely watched and reactions were positive, he said, but Meta apparently did not want people to see it. The video is still available on the Bits of Freedom website.

Why the glasses draw criticism

Meta's camera-equipped AI glasses have been on sale in Dutch shops since last year, and global sales tripled in 2025, according to Bits of Freedom. The group says thousands of videos have appeared online showing men filming women without their consent, in places such as beaches, bathroom stalls and saunas. That is why the devices are widely called "pervert glasses".

Bits of Freedom launched the website gluurbril.nl, Dutch for "peeping glasses", to campaign for a ban. In September the Dutch Consumers' Association also called for camera glasses to be withdrawn from the market on privacy grounds.

Camera-free glasses, unchanged criticism

At its Connect event on 23 September, Meta presented Ray-Ban Meta Audio, its first glasses without a camera. They start at $349 and ship on 13 October. Meta denies that the timing is a response to the backlash and says audio has always been the most popular feature of its glasses. The Verge noted that the new model does not tackle the main worry, the covert recording of people nearby.

Bits of Freedom argues the removal shows how one company can promote a product and silence criticism of it at the same time. The group recalls earlier cases, including the removal of queer accounts and personal accounts of sex workers.