Meta is facing renewed questions about its development of facial recognition technology for its smart glasses following recent investigations into partnerships and prototype code.
Meta has been testing facial recognition features for its Ray-Ban smart glasses in collaboration with Rank One Computing, a supplier of biometric tools to the US military and law enforcement. A recent Wired investigation revealed a software license allowing Meta to use the firm's military-grade facial recognition and liveness detection technology through the Meta AI app.
The company removed dormant code for a feature called NameTag in early June after public attention, but questions persist about its ongoing work. Meta has stated that no final decisions have been made on rolling out such capabilities and emphasized that nothing has been shipped to consumers.
In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said the company would approach any future release thoughtfully and with transparency. Privacy groups have highlighted risks of biometric surveillance, noting potential impacts on anonymity and marginalized communities.
This follows Meta's 2021 decision to end plans for a central facial recognition database and a 2024 settlement of a Texas lawsuit over data collection for $1.4 billion.
