Does Meta’s Smart Glasses Violate Privacy Laws?
The short version: CiVL Dispatch covers a new class action alleging Meta mined Facebook and Instagram photos to build facial recognition for future smart glasses, raising fresh biometric privacy alarms.
Our Take
Credit to CiVL Dispatch for flagging this one: a 66-page class action claims Meta scraped billions of faces — users and non-users alike — to train a facial recognition system called NameTag, reportedly eyed for its smart glasses line. Meta says it has no current plans to ship facial recognition in the glasses, but "no current plans" is corporate-speak for "not yet, but don't hold us to it."
This matters to us because ALPR networks and face recognition are two branches of the same tree: both quietly convert your public existence into a searchable database without your consent. If Flock cameras are logging where your car goes, a face-scanning wearable on every stranger's head logs who you are everywhere you stand. Combine the two and you don't need a warrant to build a complete biographical timeline — you just need an API.
We'll keep tracking how biometric and location surveillance systems increasingly talk to each other. In the meantime, check our camera map to see what's already watching your block, and visit take action if you want to push back on the infrastructure before it normalizes face-scanning glasses too.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of CiVL Dispatch, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.