Hans Anders, one of the Netherlands’ largest optical chains, has pulled Meta’s camera-equipped smart glasses from sale, citing the widening privacy debate around them.

The retailer removed the glasses from all its stores in the Netherlands and Belgium with immediate effect and halted online sales. Hans Anders calls the move temporary, saying it wants to see how the social and political discussion develops before deciding whether to restock.

“We take these signals seriously and see that this is developing into a social and political discussion,” the company told the newspaper AD. It left the door open to returning the glasses to its lineup later.

The decision lands as Dutch institutions tighten their own rules. Hospitals and the Ministry of Defense are adopting stricter measures on the wearables, following earlier concern from regulators about covert recording. The chain’s move pushes that debate out of courtrooms and clinics and onto ordinary shopping streets.

It also shifts the argument. Much of the backlash so far came from watchdogs, venues, and privacy groups. A mainstream optician withdrawing a product is a commercial signal that the reputational cost now sits inside the retail calculation.

Source: RetailDetail EU