Meta Sued Over Training Data for Its AI and Face-Recognition Systems
Illinois and California families sue Meta alleging Facebook and Instagram photos were used without consent to build faceprints and train AI models.
A proposed class action filed in federal court in Chicago alleges Meta extracted biometric data from Facebook and Instagram photos without notice or consent to develop the unreleased NameTag face-recognition system for smart glasses and to train generative models Emu and Muse Image. Plaintiffs invoke Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, seeking $5,000 per intentional or $1,000 per negligent violation, with a class that could number in the millions dating back to September 2021. Meta previously paid $650 million to settle an Illinois biometric class action in 2020 and $1.4 billion to Texas in 2024. Meta calls the suit without merit and says it is not building a universal face database.
- Suit targets NameTag code found embedded in the Meta glasses AI companion app
- That app had been downloaded more than 50 million times before the code's removal
- Claims Emu and Muse Image training harvested biometric information without consent
- Seeks BIPA damages of $5,000 per intentional, $1,000 per negligent violation
- Meta's prior biometric settlements include $650 million in Illinois and $1.4 billion in Texas
- Vendors
- Meta
- Organizations
- Wexler Boley & Elgersma
- Countries
- United States
- AI models
- EmuMuse Image
From the original article
4 min read at wired.com
The proposed class action alleges Meta illegally harvested people’s Facebook and Instagram photos to train its AI image-generation models and to build its unreleased “NameTag” face recognition feature.
By Dhruv Mehrotra · wired.com
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