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Facial recognition technology can help the platform be ‘faster, more accurate and more effective’ against imposters, the software giant said.
Meta is testing the use of facial recognition technology as a deterrent against scammers – methods that Meta said are showing “promising results” in early testing. However, this will not be rolled out yet in the EU due to the complexity of the bloc’s regulations, the Facebook and Instagram owner said.
In the coming weeks, Meta will enrol a select group of public personalities who have previously been victims of ‘celeb-bait’ ads – impersonators using their likeness to sell products through fake ads or bait platform users into clicking scam links – to test out this new method.
Meta’s existing systems primarily rely on automated technology such as machine learning to review and identify ads that violate the platform’s policies.
Through this new method, if Meta’s systems suspect that a post or ad contains the image of a public figure “at risk” of celeb-bait, Meta will employ facial recognition to compare the face presented in the suspected false ad against the potential victim’s profile pictures on Facebook and Instagram.
If the systems confirm the ad is a scam, Meta will block the ad.
Accounts enrolled on this new system can opt out at any time, the platform said. Additionally, it also said that all facial recognition data will be deleted immediately after use.
Meta is also testing video selfies as an added method for users to regain access to their accounts if they’ve been locked out. This method, Meta said, will be “harder for hackers to abuse than traditional document-based identity verification”.
Users can upload a video selfie and Meta will use facial recognition to compare it against the profile picture on the account they’re trying to access – a similar method to already existing identity verification used to unlock a phone or access other apps.
Meta said any collected data will be encrypted and stored, and will be deleted as soon as the recognition is complete – regardless of whether it was successful or not.
Earlier this year, Meta agreed to pay a settlement of $1.4bn to resolve a lawsuit in Texas accusing the tech giant of illegally using facial recognition technology to collect biometric data.
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