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Memo: Meta considered adding facial recognition to its smart glasses during a “dynamic political environment” in the US when civil society groups are distracted

In an internal memo last year, Meta said the political tumult in the United States would distract critics from the feature's release.

New York Times

Discussion

  • @lauridonahue Lauri Donahue on bluesky
    This is both a horrible invasion of privacy and really useful for those of us who forget people's names...  However, my current Facebook profile picture is a Parisian mosaic of Prudentia: [embedded post]
  • @justinhendrix Justin Hendrix on bluesky
    “Meta, Facebook's parent company, plans to add the feature to its smart glasses, which it makes with the owner of Ray-Ban and Oakley, as soon as this year, according to four people involved with the plans who were not authorized to speak publicly about confidential discussions.”
  • @kittywashere Kitty WH on bluesky
    Time to close your Meta accounts? [embedded post]
  • @colinhughesuk Colin Hughes on x
    If smart glasses could privately help someone with dementia or an acquired brain injury recognise a person, would that justify built-in facial recognition? Or is the privacy risk simply too high? There's a real accessibility vs surveillance debate here. https://www.macrumors.com/…
  • @issielapowsky Issie Lapowsky on x
    Absolutely backwards take by whichever Meta employee thought the “dynamic political environment” would make people *less* concerned about having a bunch of facial recognition glasses on the streets of the US. https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]
  • @glenngabe Glenn Gabe on x
    Yep, Minority Report-like functionality. Spielberg hired futurists when directing the movie. Now Meta is trying to make that a reality. Again, we are approaching Jarvis -> Meta plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses as soon as 2026, and considers letting the [image]
  • @patrickgaspard Patrick Gaspard on x
    “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns” This leaked memo from Meta exposes how they are gaming our democracy crisis - Meta Plans to Add Facial
  • @jamestitcomb James Titcomb on x
    Someone at Meta actually wrote this down “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns” https://www.nytimes.com/...
  • @davemay1 @davemay1 on bluesky
    Creepy.  —  “Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses—In an internal memo last year, Meta said the political tumult in the United States would distract critics from the feature's release.”  —  www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
  • @samplereality Mark Sample on bluesky
    Meta saying that now is a good time to launch facial recognition glasses because civil liberty groups will be too distracted is Peak Facebook.  One more reason to delete your Meta account. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...  [image]
  • @johndavisson John Davisson on bluesky
    The FTC and state AGs need to act *now* to stop this.  Last time Meta slipped facial rec into its products (face tagging), enforcers dawdled.  Meta took 11 years to wind it back.  —  We can't afford a decade of roving FRT-enabled surveillance cameras in every bathroom, clinic, cl…
  • @mrhands31 @mrhands31 on bluesky
    There are actually zero good reasons to have cameras attached to your face at all times, and I think it's time we reminded corporations of that [embedded post]
  • @sonjadrimmer Sonja Drimmer on bluesky
    For decades the tech industry has insulated itself from criticism by leveraging the rhetoric of progressivism & benignity towards the disenfranchised & disabled, w promises of “access” & “democratization” that their products afford.  We can't stop them using this lang but we can …
  • @benforward3 Ben Ewen-Campen on bluesky
    Facebook plans to put facial recognition in its glasses and they think we're too stupid to fight back.  —  Their internal memo: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focu…
  • @kashhill @kashhill on bluesky
    In an internal memo in May, Meta laid out its plans to release facial recognition in its smart glasses, to the blind first, & then to the general public.  —  “Civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”  —  www.nyt…
  • @kashhill @kashhill on x
    On Meta's plans to add facial recognition technology to its smartglasses: https://www.nytimes.com/... from me, @MikeIsaac and @KalleyHuang [image]
  • @damonberes.com Damon Beres on bluesky
    Egregiously cynical, even by the low standards of this company: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”  But I've had no doubt that such a featu…
  • @noupside Renee DiResta on bluesky
    They will release glasses to help creeps identify teenagers while people are too busy fighting other crises.  [embedded post]
  • @molly.wiki Molly White on bluesky
    do you think they were twirling their moustache while writing that memo?  [embedded post]
  • @parismarx.com Paris Marx on bluesky
    they're talking about the decision to add facial recognition to the camera glasses.  this company needs to be shut down.  [embedded post]
  • @drewharwell.com Drew Harwell on bluesky
    We used AI to find the moment of social unrest most optimized to distract from our launch of the Torment Nexus  —  @kashhill.bsky.social @kalleyhuang.bsky.social @mikeisaac.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...  [image]
  • @seanokane Sean O'Kane on bluesky
    Pretty amazing (if unsurprising) that Meta was writing this memo at almost the exact same time that it launched its war against the book Careless People [embedded post]
  • @ericjgeller.com Eric Geller on bluesky
    Wow: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” according to the document from Meta's Reality Labs..." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
  • @stevekovach Steve Kovach on bluesky
    Facebook is going to add facial recognition to its AI glasses because it thinks you're too distracted by politics to notice  —  www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
  • @caseynewton Casey Newton on bluesky
    At least one Meta employee thinks it's a good time to add facial recognition technology to glasses because we're too distracted by fascism to effectively protest www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...  [image]
  • @manton.org Manton Reece on bluesky
    Stunning quote in this report from The New York Times about Meta's plans to add facial recognition to their Ray-Bans:  —  “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on…
  • @hagenblix Hagen Blix on bluesky
    Lovely to see Meta return to its roots - as a thing that's primarily about enabling harassment
  • r/privacy r on reddit
    Meta reportedly wants to add face recognition to smart glasses while privacy advocates are distracted
  • r/technology r on reddit
    Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
  • @masnick.com Mike Masnick on bluesky
    Zuck taking advantage of every opportunity, I guess.  “World's going to shit?  Well, I guess EFF will be too busy opposing fascism to notice that we launched surveillance glasses!”  —  Cool, cool.  [embedded post]