Facebook and Instagram are currently testing innovative facial recognition tools aimed at assisting users in swiftly restoring compromised accounts and mitigating fake celebrity-endorsed scams. Meta has announced plans to implement experimental features that utilize facial scans to verify user identities by comparing them to profile pictures on both Facebook and Instagram.
The primary aim of these tools is to safeguard both celebrities and regular users from “celeb-bait” advertisements, where impostors use the likeness of well-known figures to deceive users into engaging with scam websites. Although Meta employs automated technologies such as machine learning to identify policy-violating content, distinguishing celeb-bait ads from legitimate ones presents a notable challenge.
Meta explained that when their systems suspect an advertisement of being a scam involving the image of a public figure, they will attempt to employ facial recognition technology to compare the faces in the ad to those in the public figure’s Facebook and Instagram profile pictures. If a match is confirmed and the ad is deemed a scam, it will be blocked.
For celebrities to utilize the new facial recognition tools, a Facebook or Instagram profile is necessary. Meta has reported “promising results” in the speed and effectiveness of detection during early testing with a limited group of public figures. In the upcoming weeks, more celebrities affected by celeb-bait content will be automatically enrolled in the program, with an option to opt-out.
The facial recognition tools from Meta will also eventually enable users of Facebook and Instagram to regain access to locked accounts by submitting a video selfie, akin to authentication systems like Apple’s Face ID. While the rollout timeline for this feature remains unclear, Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, mentioned that the initiative is “starting small” with plans for wider implementation in the coming months.
Previously, Meta had integrated facial recognition technology into Facebook for the purpose of identifying and tagging users in photos and videos. This feature was discontinued in 2021 following an extended privacy debate. Meta asserts that the new tools have been thoroughly vetted for security and privacy and are being discussed with relevant regulators and policymakers.
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