FTC asked to investigate Meta facial recognition smart glasses plan

Meta is facing backlash over its plans to add facial recognition capabilities to its camera-equipped smart glasses.

On Wednesday, during a trial examining the impact of the social media platform on children, a judge ordered Meta team members in the Los Angeles courtroom to immediately remove their Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses.

“It is the order of this court that there must be no facial recognition of the jury,” warned Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who is presiding over the trial. “If you have done that, you must delete it. This is very serious.”

The landmark trial is set to investigate the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube. At least two members of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s entourage entering the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday were spotted wearing smart glasses, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Although the AI glasses currently lack facial recognition capabilities, Meta reportedly plans to roll them out as early as this year. According to an internal memo, the social media platform is planning the release at a time when the U.S. is facing a “dynamic political environment” in which many civil society organizations are focused on other issues.

Over the past few months, lawmakers and civil liberties advocates have been busy challenging the use of surveillance tools, such as facial recognition, by U.S. federal immigration agencies.

The revelation of Meta’s plan, however, is already causing a backlash among advocacy groups and experts.

EPIC, EEF criticize Meta’s smart glasses move

Following reports of Meta’s smart glasses plan, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) sent letters to the Federal Trade Commission and state enforcers requesting a prompt investigation into Meta. The Washington, DC-based research center says that the feature puts people “at risk of stalking, harassment, doxxing and worse.”

“This feature would pose a grave risk to privacy, safety, and civil liberties and would cause widespread harm to the public,” the letter says. “It must not be allowed to reach the market.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EEF) Senior Staff Attorney Mario Trujillo argues that Meta’s move could “cost the company billions of dollars in legal battles.”

“This kind of face recognition feature would require the company to collect a faceprint from every person who steps into view of the camera-equipped glasses to find a match,” he writes. “Meta cannot possibly obtain consent from everyone – especially bystanders who are not Meta users.”

Trujillo also believes that the U.S. public is more than ever aware of the real-world risk of invasive technology, an opinion shared by Dave Lee, U.S. technology columnist at Bloomberg Opinion.

The activity of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis and other cities has drawn public attention to federal agencies using facial recognition to identify detained individuals and legal observers. This attention is now bleeding out to other companies, according to Lee.

The public’s concern over surveillance was visible during the Super Bowl weekend when many people criticized Amazon’s Ring cameras commercial promoting its ability to track lost dogs, the columnist argues.

“The prospect of surveillance tech in our neighborhoods being turned against us no longer feels theoretical, nor does the complicity of the companies that build the products,” writes Lee.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  EFF  |  EPIC  |  facial recognition  |  FTC  |  Meta  |  Meta glasses  |  smart glasses  |  wearables