Diminished tech privacy appears to be another ripple effect from Trump 2.0. The Information reported on Wednesday that Meta has changed its tune on facial recognition. After considering but ultimately bailing on the technology for the first version of its smart glasses, the company is now actively working on wearables that can identify nearby faces. Remember when being a “Glasshole” was considered a faux pas?
According to The Information, Meta has recently discussed adding software to its smart glasses that scans bystanders’ faces and identifies people by name. The company has also reportedly considered adding the tech to future AI-powered earphones with built-in cameras.
Facial recognition tech would be part of a Meta feature dubbed internally as “super sensing.” The feature would build on the glasses’ live AI feature, which can only remain active for around half an hour (thanks to its battery). But in future devices, expected in 2026, it could run for hours.
The Information says the super-sensing mode wouldn’t likely be the default mode for the glasses. The glasses owner would have to opt in. But the person’s nearby company — those having their faces scanned and named — wouldn’t.
Making matters worse, bystanders might not even know they’re being scanned. The current Ray-Ban Meta glasses turn on a light while recording. It’s a privacy-focused feature likely spawned from Big Tech’s lessons from the Google Glass social backlash.
But Meta is reportedly questioning whether future glasses should activate the light when the device is “super-sensing” them. Uh oh.
Putting on a pair of glasses that gives you AI-powered superhuman memory might sound pretty cool. No need to remember things — just let the AI scan your environment and remind you! But the tech sounds a lot less fun when you think about the poor souls in proximity to one of these, uh, Metaholes.
Alongside the revival of facial recognition, Meta has updated its privacy policies. In April, the company changed its terms so that its current smart glasses will activate AI by default. The only way to opt out is to deactivate the “Hey Meta!” trigger phrase. Adding to the fun is a change that no longer lets glasses owners opt out of allowing the company to store and train on their voice recordings.
The Information draws a line from Trump’s reelection to Meta’s ethically dubious changes. The current Federal Trade Commission (FTC) isn’t keen on regulations that slow big businesses’ profits. Last month, FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak promised a “flexible, risk-based approach to privacy enforcement.” The agency has also stopped using labels like “surveillance advertising.”
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