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

newsSep 11, 202610804

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 information from Facebook and Instagram photos without notice or consent to train AI models and build an unreleased face-recognition feature called NameTag. WIRED reported in June that NameTag code had been embedded in Meta’s glasses AI companion app, downloaded more than 50 million times, and that the system was designed to turn faces captured by the glasses into biometric signatures compared with faceprints stored on users’ phones. The complaint cites reporting that Meta employees said NameTag could recognize people via their Meta connections or public Instagram accounts and points to a Meta patent describing face matching against profile photos and other images held by the company. The suit also targets Meta’s image-generation systems, noting Meta has said it trained Emu on large quantities of Facebook and Instagram images and that Muse Image briefly allowed image generation based on public Instagram accounts before Meta removed that feature. The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of people in Illinois, California, and nationwide whose images were uploaded to Facebook or Instagram or submitted to Meta’s generative AI prompts since September 4, 2021, estimating the national class could number in the millions. Meta said the lawsuit “is without merit,” asserted transparency about its data use, reiterated it is “not building a universal face database,” and added that NameTag has not shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made about it, while plaintiffs’ attorney Justin Boley said people should not have to worry their biometric information will be misused simply because their photographs appear on a social media platform.

Dhruv Mehrotra

@dmehro.bsky.social

NEW: Meta is facing a proposed class action alleging it used Facebook and Insta photos to build its NameTag face-recognition system and train AI models without consent. WIRED found code for NameTag hidden inside Meta’s AI app downloaded by tens of millions. Meta said the feature “doesn’t exist.”

2883h ago

jungkafka.bsky.social2

Silicon Valley is built of theft and the tech bros say it's okay. Fuck those guys. I don't think I'm alone saying some regulation is in order.🤷‍♂️✌️

rfb71.bsky.social2

Ray Ban P ? I guess we know what that stands for

Bob Carter1

Ironic that Wired, Rolling Stone, and People seem to be doing the best reporting these days while Time, AP, and NYT have all capitulated to fascism.

Quoting this

The Jarmer Fones32

This company should no longer exist.

Maj11

So not only are they pedo raybans, they're also helping to train their AI models by viewing people without their consent to be viewed or be used to train AI models. I remember a time where the tech bros were a lot better at hiding the slimy ways they were being invasive scumbags...

Is This Hell? 🏳️‍🌈5

I will never regret not being on a Zuck platform

Nebulon Wencelas Gonsalvo Bonzales4

Another good reason to mask in public

Carlisle Group LLC4

Maybe it’s just me but saying “it doesn’t exist” about a named feature in your code sounds like lying

Liz Roscher2

Think of this the next time YouTube forces to you to watch a one minute unskippable Meta ad about how they care about and depend on people to be the future.

Katie Drummond

@katie-drummond.bsky.social

An entire class action lawsuit for a feature that Meta claims "doesn't exist"...interesting!

2612h ago

Harper Zacharias3

Enough people bought the meta glasses to constitute a class action?!

gerrylev.bsky.social3

Wouldn't be the first time Zuckerberg was "less than honest".

Pete Hotchkiss2

As a general rule. The truth is usually the exact opposite of what Zuckerberg etc say

WIRED

@wired.com

The proposed class action alleges Meta illegally harvested people’s Facebook and Instagram photos to train its AI image-generation models and to build its unreleased “NameTag” face recognition feature.

1383h ago

cybersecguy.bsky.social1

How many times does meta needs to screw up before people realize how toxic they are. Been Meta free for 9 years, and couldn’t be happier. Oh, and also “Fuck you RayBan”, can’t even wear my RayBan sun glasses anymore because of this shit, I want my money back.

Andrew Couts

@couts.bsky.social

NEW: Meta is being sued in a proposed class action, which claims the company illegally trained its AI image makers and unreleased NameTag face-recognition system on people FB and Insta photos. @dmehro.bsky.social reports below. Our June report the suit cites here: www.wired.com/story/meta-s...

1113h ago

Jane3

I have no idea why people are still on any Meta platforms. They're evil and toxic. Your kids photos don't belong on it and your vacation probably Was better than mine

yeaughourdt.bsky.social1

@dmehro.bsky.social the closing line of this article is wonderful. Congratulations.

langwoodj.bsky.social1

A.I. can't exist without theft of data and violations of copyright and privacy.

Quoting this

David Mohring2

Ban camera bearing smart glasses in Aotearoa. #nzpol

Harper Zacharias

@harperzacharias.com

Enough people bought the meta glasses to constitute a class action?!

32h ago

Invalid Handle News

@news.invalid-handle.com

Meta faces a class action lawsuit over facial recognition data collection. Ireland approves a new train station in Cork. Peru researchers warn of potential 8.8 magnitude earthquake risk in Lima. The US military investigates why five journalists were held at gunpoint at Vandenberg base.

13h ago

Michele Dotson 🇺🇸🫶🏾⚖️🗳📬🇺🇦✌🏾🦾

@michelesgreenbook.bsky.social

Ask yourself whether Elon Musk’s “votesafe.org” is on the same level as the 2014-2016 Cambridge Analytica Facebook data harvesting. I’m old enough to remember the whistleblower Christopher Wylie, the 2018 #DeleteFacebook movement, and the 2022 $725 million class action judgment against Meta.

18h ago

Glenn Is Being Obstreperous Again

@glennsummers.bsky.social

There's this but it's from 2024. I don't see what I had seen before, which was on a reddit thread. It might not have gone anywhere. www.classaction.org/news/meta-pl...

1Yesterday

Thomas Keepout

@thomasworking.bsky.social

Meta Sued Over Training Data for Its AI and Face-Recognition Systems #Fmeta pervert glasses www.wired.com/story/meta-s...

3h ago

Clarkston Legal

@clarkstonlegal.bsky.social

Michigan will receive approximately $171 million from the $17 billion settlement in the state attorneys general class action lawsuit filed against Meta. To date, no details on where the funds will be allocated.

Yesterday

2 sources

wired.comMeta Sued Over Training Data for Its AI and Face-Recognition Systems third-news.comRosen Law Firm Investigates Potential Class Action Against Disc Medicine, Inc. for Investor Claims

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

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