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
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Discussion
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@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]
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@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.”
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@kittywashere
Kitty WH
on bluesky
Time to close your Meta accounts? [embedded post]
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@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/…
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@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]
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@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]
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@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
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@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/...
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@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...
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@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]
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@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…
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@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]
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@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 …
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@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…
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@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…
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@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]
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@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…
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@noupside
Renee DiResta
on bluesky
They will release glasses to help creeps identify teenagers while people are too busy fighting other crises. [embedded post]
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@molly.wiki
Molly White
on bluesky
do you think they were twirling their moustache while writing that memo? [embedded post]
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@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]
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@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]
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@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]
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@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...
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@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...
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@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]
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@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…
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@hagenblix
Hagen Blix
on bluesky
Lovely to see Meta return to its roots - as a thing that's primarily about enabling harassment
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r/privacy
r
on reddit
Meta reportedly wants to add face recognition to smart glasses while privacy advocates are distracted
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r/technology
r
on reddit
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
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@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]