Meta faces lawsuit over use of user data for AI and facial recognition

Parents and children in Illinois and California have filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company illegally used their Facebook and Instagram photos to develop NameTag, a face-recognition system for smart glasses, and to train AI models like Emu and Muse Image. The class-action complaint claims Meta violated privacy laws by extracting biometric data without consent. WIRED reported in June that NameTag code was embedded in Meta’s glasses app, downloaded over 50 million times, and could turn faces into biometric signatures. Meta denied building a central face database but refused to clarify how NameTag would handle data. The lawsuit also targets Meta’s image-generation systems, which allegedly used Facebook and Instagram data without permission. The plaintiffs seek damages under Illinois and California privacy laws, with potential penalties reaching millions. This is not the first time Meta has faced fines for biometric data misuse, including a $650 million settlement in 2020 and a $1.4 billion payout in 2024. Meta has removed the NameTag code from its app, calling the reporting misleading, but the complaint frames it as part of a long pattern of privacy violations. The plaintiffs include Francisco Alvarez, his son, Jeremy Wahl, and his daughter, with the class extending to millions of users whose data was uploaded to Facebook or Instagram since September 4, 2021. Justin Boley, an attorney for the plaintiffs, stated that people shouldn’t have to worry about biometric misuse simply because their photos are on social media. Meta’s spokesperson called the lawsuit without merit, emphasizing transparency and stating no final decision on NameTag has been made. The case highlights ongoing concerns over how tech companies handle user data for AI development.