Technology
Meta faces class-action lawsuit over photo data used for facial recognition
Plaintiffs accuse Meta of harvesting user photos without consent for facial recognition and AI systems, according to Wired.
The short version
- A proposed class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago accuses Meta of taking user photos from Instagram and Facebook without consent to train AI and facial-recognition software.[Wired]
- The legal action seeks to represent millions of people whose biometric information was allegedly extracted in violation of privacy statutes.[Wired]
- Meta stated that the lawsuit is without merit and misrepresents its work.[Wired]
Key facts
- A lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago claims Meta improperly used Instagram and Facebook images to develop an unreleased facial-recognition tool called NameTag and to train generative AI models.[Wired]
- The proposed class action contends Meta violated state privacy laws by harvesting biometric details without user notification or consent.[Wired]
- Plaintiffs estimate that the nationwide class could encompass millions of individuals.[Wired]
- Meta has previously resolved major biometric privacy disputes, settling an Illinois class action for $650 million in 2020 and paying Texas $1.4 billion in 2024.[Wired]
What remains uncertain
- Whether the lawsuit will obtain class certification and whether Meta's internal practices breached state biometric privacy statutes remain unresolved.[Wired]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.