Meta is reportedly considering integrating facial recognition functionality into its smart glasses as early as this year. According to an internal memo revealed by the New York Times, the feature, dubbed "Name Tag," would allow users to identify people they encounter on the street and obtain information about them via the company's artificial intelligence assistant.
According to this document, the deployment could be discreet. The Meta Reality Labs division mentions a launch in a "dynamic political environment," where civil liberties organizations would be mobilized on other fronts. The company thus seems to be anticipating potential criticism regarding privacy, a particularly sensitive issue when it comes to biometric tools accessible to the general public.
Ambitions hampered by European rules
Meta is exploring several scenarios: recognizing contacts already linked to the user on its platforms, but also identifying people with public accounts, particularly on Instagram. The company maintains that it is not aiming, at this stage, for widespread identification of the entire population. This is not the first attempt: in 2021, a similar option was considered for its Ray-Ban connected glasses, but ultimately failed.
For Mark Zuckerberg, these capabilities could represent a strategic advantage in the face of growing competition in AI-powered connected devices, particularly from OpenAI. A potential launch would initially target the United States. In Europe, where regulations on biometric data are stricter, such a system would likely face rigorous scrutiny from authorities.
