A blind Dane and the country’s largest organization for the visually impaired are defending Meta’s AI smart glasses, as Danish politicians debate restrictions following reports of covert filming.
Kai Østergaard, who is blind and lives in South Jutland, uses Meta’s smart glasses as a daily aid. DR reported on August 18 that he wears them almost constantly and asks the glasses to describe whatever he wants to see.
According to DR, Østergaard uses the device to pick out clothes in the morning, to have documents read aloud, and to check expiration dates in his refrigerator. He is chair of Danske Handicaporganisationer in Vejen, and he also uses the glasses while walking with his guide dog, Elvis.
The glasses, developed by Meta with Ray-Ban, look like ordinary eyewear but contain a camera, speakers and built-in artificial intelligence. Meta’s Danish product pages state that a capture LED blinks during photo and video recording and cannot be switched off. If the light is covered or damaged, the camera deactivates.
Over the past week, the devices have been heavily criticized in Denmark after cases of people being filmed without their knowledge. DR reported that women in Denmark and abroad have described finding videos of themselves on social media. Enhedslisten has proposed a ban, and Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen has said he will examine how Danes can best be protected against misuse.
Blind organization warns against a ban
Diana Stentoft, chair of Dansk Blindesamfund, told DR that AI glasses have the potential to be life changing for blind and visually impaired people. She described them as one of the most transformative assistive devices to reach the market in years, because they can provide information about surroundings and reduce dependence on help from others.
Stentoft said she is concerned that labels such as “stalker glasses” circulating in the public debate could turn against blind users. She said she fears a form of vigilantism, where members are met with negative reactions for wearing the glasses in public places such as restaurants. She does not consider a political ban the right path.
Østergaard said he is saddened when technology that helps people is misused, and that people like him should not be held accountable for others’ behavior. He noted that blind users cannot misuse the camera in the same way, precisely because they cannot see.
In an earlier report, DR wrote that influencers and fashion magazines had dropped advertising for the glasses, and that Forbrugerrådet Tænk criticized the privacy implications. Avisen.dk, citing TV 2, reported that Eurowoman and Euroman ended a Synoptik campaign, while Synoptik said it had no plans to stop selling the glasses.
The Guardian reported on August 8, 2026 that researchers had observed a shift toward discreet point-of-view recording that bystanders struggle to detect.
