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Senators warn that the technology could threaten privacy and discourage public protest.
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses at a Meta Platforms event in San Francisco. MUST CREDIT: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Sen. Ed Markey is raising concerns about the potential risks of smart glasses equipped with facial recognition technology, warning they could be used to identify protesters and discourage public dissent.
In a March 17 letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Markey, joined by Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, demanded answers about the company’s reported plans to integrate facial recognition into its smart glasses.
“Although facial recognition may offer real benefits for blind and visually impaired users, Meta’s history of failing to protect user privacy raises serious questions about its plan to deploy this technology in its smart glasses,” Markey said in a statement.
The lawmakers’ letter follows reports that Meta is exploring adding facial recognition capabilities to future versions of its wearable devices.
In the letter, the senators warned that such technology could identify, track, and surveil people in real time without their knowledge or consent. They stressed that the glasses could be used to identify people at political rallies.
“Widespread use of this technology could chill free expression and enable harassment,” they wrote.
The senators gave Meta until April 6 to answer questions about how the company would collect, store, and safeguard sensitive biometric data, and whether users — or those being scanned — would have any ability to opt out.
“Without strong safeguards, this technology could be used to target vulnerable communities and undermine Americans’ privacy and civil liberties,” the senators wrote.
Meta has not publicly stated whether it plans to roll out facial recognition in its smart glasses.
The letter comes ahead of a nationwide day of protests scheduled for March 28. Dozens of “No Kings” rallies are planned in cities and towns across Massachusetts, including Boston. An estimated tens of thousands of people turned out for the city’s last “No Kings” protest in October.
Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.
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