Meta share weaker: Facebook Group is considering facial recognition in its glasses

One often hears of interest in it, it said in a meta statement. However, the group is still examining various options and will proceed “carefully” if such a function is introduced.

The New York Times had previously reported that Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) could equip its smart glasses with some type of facial recognition this year. Also in Europe under the brands Ray Ban and Oakley glasses have a camera, microphone and speaker, while they look very similar to traditional glasses frames. Most recently, Meta also brought glasses onto the market in the USA that can show wearers information on a small display in the right lens. The glasses have an LED light that turns on when the camera takes pictures.

Trouble with earlier facial recognition

The New York Times reported, citing an internal meta-document, that the company had been considering how exactly a facial recognition function could be designed in view of data protection risks since the beginning of last year. One suggestion was to initially publish it for participants at a conference for the visually impaired.

The company discontinued an earlier facial recognition function that could automatically identify people known to a user in photos years ago after data protection criticism and therefore had to pay billions in the USA. One of the stumbling blocks at the time was that biometric data from users had to be collected on a large scale. According to media reports, Meta had already considered a facial recognition function when the first glasses were launched on the market in 2021.

Now, according to the New York Times, the meta-document pointed out as an advantage that the attention of potential critics lies elsewhere in view of the “dynamic” political developments in the USA.

Different options

The feature will not allow anyone you encounter to be identified, the newspaper wrote, citing people in the know. One option being considered is to allow the glasses to recognize people with whom users are connected on meta platforms. More broadly, the function could identify people who have a publicly accessible account on Instagram, for example, it was said. In addition to Facebook and Instagram, Meta also includes the chat services WhatsApp and Messenger.

As early as 2024, Harvard students demonstrated that they could use meta-glasses to identify strangers in the Boston subway by linking to an Internet database.

Currently, users have to activate the glasses’ cameras themselves. According to the New York Times, Meta is also working on a feature that can track users’ entire day. For Facebook founder and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, the glasses are an important addition to artificial intelligence because thanks to them the software can see and hear what users see and hear.

In NASDAQ trading on Friday, Meta shares ultimately lost 1.55 percent to $639.77.

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