Over 70 Civil Rights Groups Oppose Meta's Facial Recognition Smart Glasses

Gate News message, April 15 — More than 70 civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), are urging Meta to abandon plans to add facial recognition capabilities to its smart glasses, citing risks of misuse by stalkers and other malicious actors. The groups sent a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg on April 14.

The organizations argued that people have the right to go about their daily lives without fear of having their identities tracked in real time, along with their habits, hobbies, relationships, and health information. They demanded Meta disclose cases where wearable devices have been used in crimes such as stalking, harassment, and domestic violence, and called for transparency regarding discussions with law enforcement agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the use of smart glasses and other wearables.

The controversy centers on Meta’s in-development facial recognition feature called “Name Tag,” which uses AI to display information about people in the user’s field of view on the smart glasses screen. Meta is reportedly considering various scenarios, including whether to limit recognition to known contacts or extend it to users with public Facebook and Instagram accounts. A Meta spokesperson said the company does not currently offer such features but would take a very cautious approach if it launches them in the future.