Meta plans to add facial recognition software to its glasses despite security and privacy concerns

Meta is looking to add facial recognition software to its smart glasses despite concerns about security and privacy, a report claims.

The “Name Tag” feature would provide glasses wearers with identifying details of the people they are looking at, according to the New York Times.

But an internal memo seen by the newspaper acknowledged the technology carries “safety and privacy risks.”

Furthermore, the company appears to see an upside in releasing a potentially controversial product during the ongoing political turmoil in the U.S., The Times adds.

“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 leaked memo says, per the newspaper.

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In recent months, facial recognition technology has been used by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) to track down not only suspected undocumented migrants but also American citizens protesting against ICE.

A Meta spokesperson told The Independent the company was still looking into the technology and considering its options.

“We’re building products that help millions of people connect and enrich their lives,” a statement said.

“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.”

The move comes five years after Facebook removed facial recognition from its site , in a bid to find the “right balance” of privacy and legality on the social network.

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Since then, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has aligned himself to President Donald Trump’s White House which has been friendly to big-tech and little regulation.

Meta came out with its first Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2021, but at the time they could only take photos and record videos. The CEO and Facebook founder unveiled new glasses powered by AI last September.

The glasses have proven to be a popular product selling approximately seven million pairs in the past year.

According to three people involved in making the glasses who spoke to The Times, the facial recognition component would differentiate Meta’s product from smart glasses being produced by competitor Open-AI.

But Nathan Freed Wessler of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned that facial recognition is “ripe for abuse”.

“Face recognition technology on the streets of America poses a uniquely dire threat to the practical anonymity we all rely on,” he said.