Meta has said it will use facial recognition technology in a bid to crack down on fraudulent celebrity ads plaguing its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
The move comes three years after Meta removed facial recognition intelligence from Facebook following a backlash against the technology. Meta hopes that this time the implementation of the system and the reason for incorporating it will be better received by its online communities.
“Scammers often try to use images of public figures, such as content creators or celebrities, to entice people to interact with ads that lead to fraudulent websites, where they are asked to share personal information or send money,” Meta explained. in a post announcing the move to reintroduce facial recognition technology.
Meta already has a system to detect fraudulent ads involving celebrities, but now it aims to make it more robust. In the future, if you suspect that an ad is a possible scam and contains the image of a public figure at risk of celebrity baiting, you will implement facial recognition technology to compare the faces in the ad with the Facebook and Instagram profile images of the public figure. . If you confirm a match and conclude that the ad is a scam, Meta will block it.
In a bid to steer clear of the same type of criticism that led Meta to ditch a form of facial recognition technology three years ago that involved automatically tagging photos of Facebook users, the company said it will delete any facial data generated. from Facebook ads. unique comparison, regardless of whether your system finds a match, and adds that it will not use the data for any other purpose.
The company said early tests with a small group of celebrities and public figures show promising results. Next, it will enroll a broader group of celebrities who have been used in celebrity baiting scams. Those selected will be notified and may unsubscribe from the system at any time.
Recover access to accounts
Meta said it is also testing facial recognition technology as a way for people to verify their identity and regain access to Facebook and Instagram accounts if they forget their password, lose their device or are tricked into giving their password to someone. a scammer
Currently, owners of compromised accounts must verify their identity to regain access by uploading an official ID or an official certificate showing their name.
But Meta said it is now testing “video selfies” as a way for people to verify their identity and regain access to their account.
“The user will upload a selfie video and we will use facial recognition technology to compare the selfie with the profile images of the account they are trying to access,” the company explained, adding that the system is “comparable to account verification tools.” identity”. You may already use it to unlock your phone or access other apps.”
Uploaded selfie videos will be encrypted and stored securely and will never appear on any Meta platform. Meta will also immediately delete the video once it has been used to verify a user's identity.
“Selfie video verification expands the options for people to regain account access, it only takes a minute and is the easiest way for people to verify their identity,” Meta said. “While we know that hackers will continue to try to exploit account recovery tools, it will ultimately be more difficult for hackers to abuse this verification method than traditional document-based identity verification.”