Meta Sued Over Alleged Collection of Biometric Data for Smart Glasses

Meta Platforms has been sued in the US over allegations that it collected and exploited biometric information from users and others to develop facial-recognition and generative artificial intelligence technologies for its smart glasses.

 

A proposed class action filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois alleges that Meta obtained images uploaded to Facebook and Instagram without consent and used them to train AI-powered facial-recognition technology designed for its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses.

 

The lawsuit claims that the alleged practices violate the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which regulates the collection, storage and use of biometric information.

 

The complaint alleges that Meta used photographs containing people’s faces to create biometric representations, including facial templates and other numerical representations, which could subsequently be used by facial-recognition systems.

 

The lawsuit focuses in part on NameTag, a facial-recognition technology reportedly developed for Meta’s smart glasses and its Meta AI companion application. The system is designed to recognise people captured by the glasses’ cameras, according to the complaint.

 

The allegations follow reports about code discovered in the Meta AI application that appeared to indicate the existence of NameTag. The technology was reportedly designed to convert a captured face into a biometric signature and compare it with facial representations stored on a user’s device.

 

Meta has previously said it was exploring facial-recognition capabilities but that the technology had not been released to consumers and that no final decision had been made on launching the feature. The company has also disputed suggestions that it is building a central database of facial information.

 

The new lawsuit, however, alleges that Meta’s activities extend beyond the development of facial-recognition technology. The plaintiffs claim that images from Facebook and Instagram were also used to train generative-AI systems, including Meta’s image-generation models.

 

The complaint argues that facial characteristics contained in photographs can be transformed into mathematical representations during the AI training process. According to the plaintiffs, those representations can amount to biometric information protected under BIPA.

 

The legal challenge therefore raises broader questions about whether biometric information can be created, stored or processed through generative-AI systems, even when the technology does not produce a conventional facial scan.

 

The plaintiffs argue that Meta’s AI models may retain information capable of identifying or reproducing characteristics of people whose photographs were included in training datasets. They contend that this could affect people who do not have Meta accounts and who may not have known that their images were being used for AI development.

 

The complaint also alleges that Meta failed to comply with BIPA requirements governing the collection and retention of biometric information.

 

The Illinois plaintiffs claim Meta violated provisions requiring companies to provide notice explaining the purpose and duration of biometric-data collection and obtain informed written consent before collecting or obtaining such information.

 

They also allege that Meta failed to maintain a publicly available policy setting out how long biometric information would be retained and when it would be destroyed.

 

The lawsuit additionally includes claims under California law relating to the alleged commercial use of photographs, likenesses and biometric information without permission.

 

The proposed nationwide class would cover people in the US whose images were uploaded to Facebook, Instagram or Meta’s generative-AI systems. Separate classes have also been proposed for residents of Illinois and California.

 

The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction, damages and an order requiring Meta to stop the practices alleged in the complaint. Under BIPA, statutory damages can reach $5,000 for each intentional or reckless violation and $1,000 for each negligent violation.

 

The case adds to Meta’s long-running legal battles over the collection and use of biometric information.

 

Meta previously agreed to pay $650 million to settle an Illinois class action over Facebook’s facial-recognition and face-tagging practices. In 2024, the company also agreed to pay Texas $1.4 billion to resolve allegations that it unlawfully collected users’ biometric data.

 

The latest lawsuit comes after Meta announced years ago that it would discontinue Facebook’s facial-recognition system and delete more than one billion facial templates.

 

The plaintiffs now argue that, although Meta moved away from facial recognition on Facebook, the company’s large collection of social media photographs has continued to provide a source of data for facial-recognition and generative-AI technologies.

 

The case is at an early stage, and the allegations have yet to be tested in court. The proposed classes have also not yet been certified.

 

The lawsuit could nevertheless have wider implications for the development of AI-powered wearable technology, particularly as smart glasses increasingly incorporate cameras, voice assistants and facial-recognition capabilities.

 

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