Meta smart glasses are testing facial recognition software used by police and the military

Meta Ray-Bans are under increasing public scrutiny after revelations of the facial recognition work Meta was performing on its smart glasses. Consumers are wary of products that could turn wearable technology into everyday monitoring devices.

In early June, a Wired investigation revealed how Meta quietly included code for a passive facial recognition program under the internal hashtag “NameTag.” This feature, if introduced, would have allowed for this Meta smart glasses To identify anyone seen through biometrics – in real time, without consent – using a stored digital facial fingerprint. The code, which was never activated for users, was removed the next day.

the Electronic Frontier Foundation Threat Lab Verify and report preliminary results Meta reversing course After popular reactions. But the privacy nonprofit noted that Meta’s deletion of the code “does not mean a permanent change of heart.”

Now, just one week later Meta has removed the codethe company is facing new questions about its prototype facial recognition software. A new investigation by Wired revealed that Meta has partnered with… Computing firsta supplier to the US military and law enforcement agencies of its biometric identification technology. Wired said it revealed a software license linking the Pentagon vendor to the Meta AI app, the same license used for Meta’s smart glasses products.

The licensing agreement will allow Meta to use military-grade facial recognition technology and first-class “life detection,” which confirms whether someone is seeing a live person, a mask or an image. This business relationship, as Wired noted, “shows how thin the line is between surveillance technology sold to law enforcement and the military and consumer products sold to everyone else.”

According to Wired, Rank One Computing declined to comment on the results. The Denver-based company, which generates nearly 80% of its revenue from government clients, did not respond to a request from CNET for comment.

A Meta spokesperson told CNET that it has not made final decisions on facial recognition software for Meta Glasses, but would not confirm whether the tech giant is licensing a military-grade engine for its glasses. In an email statement, Meta noted: “Nothing has been shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here. If we decide to roll something out, we will take a measured approach and do so with full transparency.”

Controversy over facial recognition in Meta

In our previous coverage, CNET noted the dangerous precedent of Meta glasses storing biometric facial data in a built-in database structure that can compare new facial fingerprints to existing ones. At the time, a Meta spokesperson responded that the company “is not building a centralized facial database.”

In late 2021, under public pressure, Meta announced her plans To stop its efforts to build a central facial recognition database on the Facebook platform. The company said that by that point, about 600 million users globally had already signed up for the software, which can recognize faces in photos and videos to tag people on the social networking site. dead He later settled the lawsuit in 2024 The state of Texas has sued over facial recognition data collection for $1.4 billion.

Earlier this year, The New York Times reported Meta was developing software for its smart glasses to recognize people, supposedly using data from its social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram. The article cited an internal memo from Meta stating that political unrest in the United States would distract critics from releasing the feature.

Privacy advocacy groups like the EFF have been around for a long time Written Harms of facial recognition technology: Public surveillance supported by biometrics severely undermines anonymity. Facial recognition technology also has a disproportionately negative impact on marginalized groups, as it can track movement, falsely identify people of color, and lead to wrongful arrests. Companies and governments can also misuse facial fingerprinting without consent, creating risks for identity theft and cybersecurity.