Meta Sued Over AI and Face Recognition Training Data
A new lawsuit alleges Meta illegally used Facebook and Instagram photos to train its Emu and Muse Image AI models and build its unreleased NameTag
A group of parents and their children in Illinois and California have sued Meta in federal court. They allege the company illegally used their Facebook and Instagram photos to train generative AI models and build an unreleased face-recognition system called NameTag for its smart glasses.
The proposed class action, filed last week in Chicago, claims Meta violated state privacy laws by extracting biometric information from people's photos without notice or consent. The lawsuit targets both the NameTag system and Meta's image-generation AI models, Emu and Muse Image.
The NameTag Face Recognition System
WIRED reported in June that code for NameTag was secretly embedded in the Meta glasses AI companion app, which had been downloaded over 50 million times. While not enabled for users, the system was designed to turn faces captured by the glasses into biometric signatures and compare them against a database of 'faceprints' on a user's phone. That database was configured to receive updates from Meta.
The complaint alleges these faceprints are possibly derived from Facebook and Instagram images. It cites reporting where Meta employees claimed NameTag could recognize people through their Meta connections or public Instagram accounts. A company patent describing face matching against profile photos is also referenced.
Meta told WIRED it was 'not building a central face database' but did not answer questions about an opt-in mechanism or data retention. The complaint states Meta has not disclosed which images, if any, were used for generating biometric data.
AI Model Training Under Scrutiny
The suit also challenges Meta's training of its generative AI systems. Meta's chief product officer, Chris Cox, has called Facebook and Instagram a 'data advantage' for its AI, stating Emu was trained on large quantities of images and text from those platforms. The lawsuit alleges this training process illegally harvested biometric information from people appearing in the images.
It also references Muse Image, released this summer. That model drew criticism for allowing users to generate images based on other people's public Instagram accounts, a feature Meta removed within days.
Legal Claims and Potential Damages
The plaintiffs are Francisco Alvarez and his son from Illinois, and Jeremy Wahl and his 10-year-old daughter from California. The proposed class could include millions of people across the United States whose images were uploaded to Meta platforms or submitted to its AI systems since September 4, 2021.
Under Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the plaintiffs seek statutory damages of $5,000 for each intentional or reckless violation, or $1,000 for each negligent violation, whichever is greater. They also seek injunctive relief. California claims seek additional damages.
| Jurisdiction | Violation Type | Statutory Damage Per Violation | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | Intentional/Reckless | $5,000 | Actual damages if greater |
| Illinois | Negligent | $1,000 | Actual damages if greater |
| California | Various | Not specified in source | Additional damages and relief sought |
Meta's Response and History
A Meta spokesperson called the lawsuit 'without merit' and said it misrepresents the company's work. 'We've been transparent about how we use people's information to build and improve our AI products,' the statement said. Regarding NameTag, the spokesperson said nothing has shipped and no final decision has been made, adding, 'we are not building a universal face database.'
This is not Meta's first legal challenge over biometric data. In 2020, it paid $650 million to settle an Illinois class action over an earlier face-recognition system, which it shut down in 2021. In 2024, Meta agreed to pay Texas $1.4 billion over separate biometric data collection allegations.
The day after WIRED's June 4 report, Meta removed the NameTag code from its app. The company argued the feature never existed because it was not consumer-facing, despite technical analysis showing a functional system. Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth called WIRED's reporting 'incredibly misleading' but later described NameTag on a podcast as a potential feature to recognize people a glasses wearer had asked the device to remember.
Plaintiffs' attorney Justin Boley stated, 'People shouldn’t have to worry if their biometric information will be misused simply because their photographs appear on a social media platform.' The complaint frames the case as part of a long pattern of privacy violations, referencing a reported 2004 chat from CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
