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Parents and Children Sue Meta Over Alleged Photo Harvesting for AI and Face Recognition

Sep 11, 2026
WIRED
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Summary

Parents and children sue Meta in Illinois and California, alleging it harvested Facebook and Instagram photos without consent to train Emu and Muse Image AI models and develop the unshipped NameTag face-recognition system, potentially exposing millions to claims worth up to $5,000 per intentional Illinois biometric-privacy violation.

Key Points

  • Parents and children in Illinois and California sue Meta, alleging it harvested Facebook and Instagram photos without consent to train Emu and Muse Image and build the unreleased NameTag face-recognition system.
  • The proposed class covers potentially millions of people nationwide whose images were uploaded to Facebook, Instagram, or Meta AI prompts since September 4, 2021; Illinois plaintiffs seek up to $5,000 per intentional biometric-privacy violation.
  • Meta removes NameTag code from its glasses companion app after WIRED's June 4 report, while denying it is building a universal face database and saying no NameTag product has shipped.

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