Meta Revives Facial Recognition Technology to Combat ‘Celeb-Bait’ Scams
- ByStartupStory | October 22, 2024
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has restarted its facial recognition technology, three years after it was initially shut down due to privacy concerns. The social media giant announced that the technology is being reintroduced as part of its efforts to curb rising cases of “celeb-bait” scams—fraudulent advertisements that exploit the likenesses of celebrities.
Meta’s new trial, set to launch in December, will enroll around 50,000 public figures globally. The system will automatically compare their Facebook profile photos with images used in suspected scam ads. If the technology detects a match and the ad is determined to be fraudulent, Meta will block it from circulating on its platforms.
Public figures included in the trial will be notified and given the option to opt out if they choose not to participate. Monika Bickert, Meta’s Vice President of Content Policy, emphasized that the trial is designed to provide extra protection for those frequently targeted by scammers.
“The idea here is: roll out as much protection as we can for them. They can opt out of it if they want to, but we want to be able to make this protection available to them and easy for them,” Bickert said in a briefing with journalists.
While the trial is being rolled out globally, Meta noted that some regions—such as Britain, the European Union, South Korea, and U.S. states like Texas and Illinois—will be excluded due to regulatory restrictions. These areas have strict data privacy laws that limit the use of biometric data, including facial recognition technology.
The reintroduction of facial recognition comes at a time when Meta is facing increased pressure from regulators and lawsuits related to its handling of user data. In August 2023, Meta agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit in Texas that accused the company of illegally collecting biometric data from users. This followed the company’s 2021 decision to shutter its facial recognition system, during which it deleted the face scan data of over one billion users.
Despite these challenges, Meta continues to face criticism for not doing enough to tackle “celeb-bait” scams. Such scams often use images of famous figures, sometimes generated by artificial intelligence, to lure users into fraudulent investment schemes. Meta’s new initiative aims to address this problem while balancing privacy concerns.
To mitigate fears about the misuse of facial recognition technology, Meta stated that any face data generated by the system would be deleted immediately, regardless of whether the system detects a scam.
According to Bickert, the tool has undergone Meta’s “robust privacy and risk review process” and has been discussed with regulators, policymakers, and privacy experts prior to testing.
In addition to protecting public figures, Meta is also exploring the possibility of using facial recognition technology to help non-celebrity users regain access to hacked or locked accounts on Facebook and Instagram. This new feature could provide a secure way for users to recover their accounts if they forget their passwords or fall victim to hackers.
Meta’s efforts mark a renewed attempt to thread the needle between addressing rising scams and alleviating long-standing concerns about the company’s handling of sensitive user data.
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