Meta Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Use of Instagram Photos for Facial Recognition and AI Training
A federal class-action lawsuit has been initiated against Meta, alleging that the company has collected millions of images from Facebook and Instagram to create an unreleased facial recognition technology known as "Name Tag" for its smart glasses. The complaint, brought forth by families from Illinois and California, asserts that these images were also utilized to train Meta's AI systems, Emu and Muse. Although Name Tag was discovered in a related app, it was subsequently removed following public criticism. The lawsuit contends that Meta has gathered biometric data in the form of faceprints and warns that, if activated, Name Tag could scrutinize images taken by Meta Glasses for facial recognition purposes. Meta has responded, claiming the lawsuit lacks merit and highlighting its commitment to transparency in AI development.
Key facts
- A federal class-action lawsuit has been filed against Meta.
- The lawsuit alleges Meta harvested millions of photos from Facebook and Instagram to build "Name Tag", an unreleased facial recognition system for smart glasses.
- The plaintiffs are two families, one in Illinois and one in California.
- The lawsuit also claims the photos were used to train Meta's generative AI models Emu and Muse image.
- Name Tag was discovered in the code of a companion app for Meta's smart glasses.
- Meta reportedly removed Name Tag from the app after backlash, with the glasses dubbed "pervert glasses".
- The lawsuit acknowledges Name Tag has not been released but argues faceprints may have been extracted from Facebook and Instagram.
- Meta has called the lawsuit "without merit" and stated it is not building a universal face database.
Entities
Institutions
- Meta
- Wired
- PetaPixel
Locations
- Illinois
- California