Meta Hit With Class-Action Lawsuit For Allegedly Using Instagram Photos to Build 'Name Tag'

A federal class-action lawsuit has been launched accusing Meta of harvesting millions of photographs from Facebook and Instagram to build “Name Tag”, an unreleased facial recognition system for its smart glasses.

The lawsuit was brought by two families, one in Illinois and one in California, who also allege Meta used the same photos to build its generative AI models Emu and Muse image.

But with fury already mounting over the wearable tech, that’s seen them dubbed “pervert glasses,” Meta reportedly removed Name Tag from the companion app.

While the lawsuit acknowledges that Meta hasn’t actually released Name Tag, the plaintiffs argue that the so-called “faceprints” may have been ripped from Facebook and Instagram.

Wired notes that the complaint also takes aim at Meta’s AI image models, alleging that the company illegally trained its models on biometric information.