The technology company Meta apparently has been waiting for just the right time to integrate a facial recognition feature into its smart glasses: a moment when likely critics would be otherwise occupied.
A memo from last May — revealed Friday by The New York Times — details plans by Meta’s Reality Labs, a research unit that works on its AI-powered smart glasses, to introduce the feature when it believes pushback will be minimal.
“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” the memo says.
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The feature could be unveiled later this year, The Times reported.
Despite Meta’s hopes of managing reaction, civil liberties groups already are lining up in opposition.
“Deploying this kind of facial recognition technology will be a privacy and surveillance nightmare,” Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO at the Center for Democracy & Technology, told Straight Arrow News. “People should not have to duck and dodge their way through society to avoid being surveilled by facial recognition-enabled glasses. These systems present a real threat when they perform badly and a whole different set of dangers when they operate as intended. Individuals at sensitive locations — be it a medical clinic, a nightclub or a house of worship — should not have to fear being scanned and IDed secretly.”
Meta defends technology
The facial-recognition feature, according to four sources who spoke with The Times, is known internally as “Name Tag.” Meta previously debated whether to add facial recognition to an earlier version of its smart glasses in 2021 but ultimately declined due to technical and ethical concerns.
Two of The Times’ sources said that Meta has been deliberating on how facial recognition would be used. One option would allow the smart glasses to only recognize people who the wearer is connected with on Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The feature would not, however, let people look up the identities of strangers they encounter.
In a statement to The Times, Meta said it was “building products that help millions of people connect and enrich their lives.”
“While we frequently hear about the interest in this type of feature — and some products already exist in the market — we’re still thinking through options and will take a thoughtful approach if and before we roll anything out,” a spokesperson said.
‘Extreme caution’
The capabilities of unchecked facial recognition were laid bare in 2024 when two students at Harvard integrated the feature into a pair of Meta’s smart glasses. By combining the glasses with an online facial recognition tool, the duo were able to automatically learn information such as the names, phone numbers and home addresses of people they looked at.
Givens said the dangers posed by facial recognition also are demonstrated by their use by immigration officers searching for people without legal status in the U.S.
“Civil rights and civil liberties groups have consistently communicated to Meta about the importance of this issue,” Givens said. “Wearable facial recognition devices need to be handled with extreme caution, and we deserve strong, clear protections from legislators and from companies themselves.”
