TL;DR: Seventy-five organizations asked Meta to halt facial recognition plans for Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses. The coalition warned that wearable identification could help stalkers, abusers, and government agents identify people without their knowledge.[1]
The Coalition's Demand
The ACLU published an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg signed by 75 organizations. It asked Meta to stop developing facial recognition for its smart glasses and publicly reject the feature.[1]
The signers included civil liberties, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+, labor, and domestic-violence organizations. Their concern is simple: a camera worn at eye level could become an identification tool that the person being scanned cannot see or avoid.
Why Wearable Identification Is Different
Reporting on Meta's plans described facial recognition that could identify people seen through Ray-Ban or Oakley smart glasses. The feature was still under development when the coalition objected.[2]
Putting identification into ordinary eyewear changes the threat. A phone held up for a photo is visible. Glasses can scan while the wearer appears to be looking around normally. That gives a stalker or harasser a discreet way to connect a face in public with an online identity.
Who Faces the Greatest Risk
LGBTQ+ groups warned that the technology could expose people who are not out, identify people entering community spaces, or make abuse survivors easier to track. Their concerns overlap with the ACLU coalition's warnings about stalking and harassment.[1][3]
Protesters, immigrants, and domestic-violence survivors face similar risks. A person should not need to know whether someone nearby is wearing a camera to protect their identity.
What Happens Next
Meta said its smart glasses did not currently offer facial recognition. That answer addressed the product already on sale, not the feature described in reporting and challenged by the coalition.[2]