Meta is testing the use of facial recognition to fight deepfake celeb ads

Meta, a social network company with nearly 4 billion users, is testing how it can use facial recognition technology to combat fake celebrity scam ads that have been plaguing its platforms.

Meta said early testing with a small group of celebrities has shown “promising results” and that it will soon trial the facial recognition technology with 50,000 celebrities and public figures “in the coming weeks.”

Meta said the system compares images in the ad against the celebrity’s Facebook and Instagram profile pictures to spot scams. “If we confirm a match and determine the ad is a scam, we’ll block it,” the company stressed in an Oct. 21 statement.

Celebrities such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, American TV host Oprah Winfrey, and Australian mining billionaires Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart have been impersonated in scam ads in the past.

Meta said the move is part of the firm’s broader crackdown against “celeb-bait” scams from cyber criminals who have become increasingly sophisticated in stealing personal information or money from victims, Meta said:

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

Mark Zuckerberg’s firm said it would soon start sending in-app notifications to many of the targeted celebrities, informing them that they have been enrolled in the protection measure and that they can choose to opt-out.

But Meta may need to proceed with caution following its recent $1.4 billion settlement with Texas for using the personal biometric data from millions of its residents without legal authorization.

Meta said it would immediately delete facial data generated when determining whether a celebrity ad is a scam.

It will also use facial recognition technology to allow people to verify their identity and regain access to compromised accounts.