Meta Testing Facial Recognition Technology To Combat Celebrity Scam Ads

Meta announced that the company is testing the use of facial recognition technology to detect and prevent celeb-bait ads on platforms. The tech giant is also testing this technology as a means for people to verify their identity and regain access to compromised accounts.

According to Meta, scammers try to use images of content creators or celebrities to bait people into engaging with ads that lead to scam websites, where they are asked to share personal information or send money. Meta's new move is to prevent such scams. If Meta's systems suspect that an ad may be a scam that contains the image of a public figure at risk for celeb-bait, the company will use facial recognition technology to compare faces in the ad to the public figure’s Facebook and Instagram profile pictures. "If we confirm a match and determine the ad is a scam, we’ll block it," said Meta in a blog post.

The social media firm is also testing video selfies as a means for users to verify their identity and regain access to compromised accounts. The user is required to upload a video selfie, and Meta will use facial recognition technology to compare the selfie to the profile pictures on the account they are trying to access.