VICTORY: Meta Strips Facial Recognition Code From Smart Glasses App After Public Outcry
Meta removed facial recognition code from its smart glasses companion app after researchers found it could silently convert images into biometric identifiers to identify strangers in public. The reversal came days after WIRED reported the discovery and EFF's Threat Lab independently confirmed the code's presence through static analysis.
Why this matters: Meta built the ability to identify strangers from a face into an app already on millions of phones, and did it quietly. That is not a design accident. Whoever wore the glasses could have pointed them at a person on the street and pulled up their identity. The code is gone now, but only because researchers caught it and the story went public. That is not how this should work. Users should not need journalists and security researchers to find out what their hardware is doing to the people around them.
Who should care: Cybersecurity · Privacy officers · Administrators · General readers · AI governance · Policy
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