Meta has started testing facial recognition technology to fight fake celebrity ads on its platforms. The technology has shown promising results in initial tests.

Testing Meta's Technology

Meta stated that early testing with a small group of celebrities has resulted in positive outcomes. The company plans to expand the facial recognition technology trial to 50,000 celebrities and public figures in the coming weeks. The system compares images in ads with celebrities' Facebook and Instagram profiles to identify fraud. If an ad is confirmed to be a scam, it will be blocked.

Examples of Celebrity Scams

Prominent figures like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, American TV host Oprah Winfrey, and Australian mining billionaires Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart have been impersonated in past scam ads. Meta is actively combating these 'celeb-bait' schemes that violate company policies and harm platform users.

This scheme, commonly called 'celeb-bait,' violates our policies and is bad for people that use our products.

Data Protection Concerns

Meta is set to start sending in-app notifications to many targeted celebrities, informing them of their enrollment in the protection measure with an opt-out choice. However, the company must navigate carefully due to a recent $1.4 billion settlement with Texas over unauthorized biometric data use. Meta assured that facial data generated to determine scams will be immediately deleted.

Meta continues to enhance methods to combat fake celebrity ads while considering crucial data protection aspects. This is a step towards tackling modern criminal schemes and alerting users to potential threats.