Facebook restarts testing facial recognition after 3-year gap

Meta is bringing back facial recognition technology on Facebook, three years after discontinuing the feature due to privacy concerns and regulatory pressure.

On Tuesday, the social media giant announced it will begin testing the software again, this time as part of efforts to combat “celeb bait” scams.

Meta plans to enroll around 50,000 public figures in a trial that will automatically compare their Facebook profile photos with images used in suspected scam advertisements. If a match is found and Meta deems the ads to be fraudulent, they will be blocked.

Celebrities will be notified of their participation and can opt out if they choose, according to the company.

The global trial is set to roll out in December, except in regions where Meta lacks regulatory approval, such as Britain, the European Union, South Korea, and U.S. states like Texas and Illinois.

Monika Bickert, Meta’s vice president of content policy, stated during a briefing that the company is focusing on public figures whose images have frequently been used in scam ads. “Our goal is to provide as much protection as possible for them. They can opt out, but we want to make this protection easy and accessible,” Bickert explained.

This move highlights Meta’s efforts to balance the use of potentially intrusive technology to address concerns about rising scams while minimizing privacy complaints, which have plagued social media companies for years.

When Meta shut down its facial recognition system in 2021 and deleted the face scan data of one billion users, it cited “growing societal concerns.” In August, the company was ordered to pay Texas $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit over illegally collecting biometric data.

At the same time, Meta faces lawsuits claiming it has not done enough to stop “celeb bait” scams, where AI-generated images of celebrities are used to trick users into giving money for fake investment schemes.

As part of the new trial, Meta said it will immediately delete any facial data generated by comparisons with suspected scam ads, regardless of whether a match is found.

Bickert emphasized that the tool underwent a “robust privacy and risk review” internally and was also discussed with regulators, policymakers, and privacy experts before testing began.

Meta also revealed plans to test facial recognition for non-celebrity users on Facebook and Instagram, to help users recover accounts compromised by hackers or locked due to forgotten passwords.

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