Meta is facing major backlash over its reported plans to bring facial recognition tech to smart glasses. A coalition of 75 organizations has now issued a strong warning, calling the technology a “serious threat to privacy” and urging the company to completely abandon the idea, adding that it is “frightening to contemplate”.

Meta’s smart glasses are wearable devices that combine cameras, microphones, and AI features to capture and interact with the world around you. The concern now is about a rumored feature called “Name Tag,” which would use facial recognition to identify people in real time and display their information. This could allow users to instantly identify strangers in public spaces without their knowledge, pulling information from online sources such as social media.

U.S. organizations are calling for the ‘Name Tag’ feature to be scrapped

The letter, addressed directly to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, does not ask for small fixes or safety tweaks. Instead, the organizations want the feature to be scrapped entirely. According to them, there is no real way to make this kind of technology safe, as people being scanned would have no way to give consent or even know it’s happening.

The coalition includes major groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Privacy Information Center, and Electronic Frontier Foundation. Together, they argue that this feature could be misused by stalkers, scammers, and even law enforcement agencies.

“Facial recognition technology built into inconspicuous consumer eyewear represents a serious threat to privacy and civil liberties for every member of our society, and particularly for historically marginalized and vulnerable groups.”

Source: ACLU Massachusetts

One of the biggest concerns is how easily this could be abused. The letter explains that someone could identify a person in seconds and potentially access details like their name, workplace, social profiles, or other personal data.

The organizations also warned that this kind of technology could lead to constant surveillance in public spaces. People would no longer be able to move around anonymously, as anyone with the glasses could scan and identify them instantly. In their view, this crosses a line that should not be crossed, and we’re sure that many people will agree.

Meta has responded by saying that it does not currently offer such facial recognition features. The company added that if it ever decides to introduce something like this, it will take a careful approach before launching it.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.