Los Angeles (USA), April 13 (EFE).- A coalition of 75 organizations led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called on Meta this Monday to cancel its plan to equip its artificial intelligence (AI) glasses with facial recognition technology, believing it to be an “unacceptable threat” to privacy and freedom.
In a letter sent to META, 75 organizations express serious concerns about the impact of this technology on vulnerable populations, including people of color, women, children, immigrants, religious minorities and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Metha’s glasses can even be used to identify and prosecute corporate executives and government officials.
Specifically, the coalition called on Meta to immediately cease and publicly abandon its plans to equip Ray-Ban and Oakley brand eyewear with facial recognition technology.
The organizations warn that glasses equipped with such technology will allow anyone using them to identify by name any stranger nearby, even at protests, medical clinics and commercial establishments.
In addition, they warn that the information collected may be linked to databases containing large amounts of sensitive information about an identified individual’s employment, habits, health and relationships.
Cody Wentzke, senior attorney for the ACLU’s Project on Speech, Privacy and Technology, said the plan is “inherently invasive and unethical.”
“Integrating this technology into consumer eyewear will dramatically increase the risk of harm to individuals, families and our own democracy,” he added.
For her part, Cade Crockford, director of technology and justice programs at the ACLU of Massachusetts, warned that stalkers and scammers will have a “hell of a time” with the technology.
He also noted that federal agents could use the information to harass and intimidate his critics. “It’s dangerous and dystopian, and Meta must abandon it.”
