Is Facial Recognition a Weapon for Stalkers? Should Meta Not Integrate It into Its Smart Glasses?

Meta's Focus on Smart Glasses

Meta is increasingly focusing on developing a range of smart glasses, a product category designed for daily use (unlike bulkier headsets) that could potentially integrate a wide array of advanced features, especially considering the growing computing power relative to energy consumption of chips and the possibility of implementing AI functionalities.

Is Facial Recognition Dangerous?

After having to deal with the scandal of videos being reviewed by human operators, Meta is preparing to integrate advanced facial recognition technologies into its smart glasses. A coalition of organizations in the United States has requested that Meta halt the project, which the company internally refers to as Name Tag.

This coalition includes entities that operate in defense of civil rights, the LGBTQ+ community, against domestic violence, and more. According to these organizations, the risk of facial recognition systems is that they would give stalkers, aggressors, and federal agents the opportunity to silently identify strangers in public places.

The issue is particularly relevant, and a recent report highlighted Meta's willingness to rapidly implement these technologies in its smart glasses, aiming to exploit the turbulent political climate (in the USA and beyond) to minimize potential negative media backlash.

According to the coalition, the critical nature of this technology "cannot be addressed through product design changes, shutdown mechanisms, or incremental security measures," and in public places, there is no effective way to consent to identification by third parties.

Meta's Response

In a statement reported by Wired, a spokesperson for Meta emphasized: "Our competitors offer this type of facial recognition product; we do not. If we were to release such a feature, we would take a very thoughtful approach before implementing it." Although this is not a definitive confirmation, the spokesperson's words suggest a future implementation of facial recognition by Meta, despite the organizations' requests.