Meta faces proposed class action over training and face-recognition data

A proposed class action filed by Illinois residents Francisco Alvarez and his son and California resident Jeremy Wahl and his 10-year-old daughter alleges Meta extracted biometric data from Facebook and Instagram photos without notice or consent to train AI systems and to build an unreleased face-recognition feature called NameTag. WIRED reported in June that NameTag code was embedded in Meta’s AI companion app, which had been downloaded more than 50 million times, and that the system was designed to convert faces captured by Meta Glasses into biometric signatures and compare them with faceprints stored in a database on the user’s phone that was configured to receive updates from Meta. The complaint cites reporting that Meta employees said NameTag could recognize people through Meta connections or public Instagram accounts and cites a Meta patent describing face matching against profile photos and other images held by the company. The suit also targets Meta’s image-generation models, noting Meta acknowledged training Emu on large quantities of Facebook and Instagram images and Chief Product Officer Chris Cox called those platforms a “data advantage.” Meta responded that it is not building a universal face database, that NameTag has not shipped, and that the company has been transparent about its use of people’s information. Plaintiff attorney Justin Boley said people should not have to worry their biometric information will be misused because their photos appear on social media. The proposed nationwide class covers people in Illinois, California, and across the United States whose images were uploaded to Facebook or Instagram or submitted to Meta’s generative AI systems through prompts since September 4, 2021, and the complaint estimates the class could number in the millions.