Meta Faces a BIPA Class Action Alleging It Trained an Internal Face-Recognition System Called NameTag on Facebook and Instagram Photos

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Alvarez et al. v. Meta Platforms was filed September 4 in the Northern District of Illinois and drew a coverage wave on September 12. The complaint alleges Meta used images of both users and non-users to train and test an internal facial recognition system named NameTag, generate facial templates, and develop the Emu and Muse Image generation models, in violation of Illinois BIPA sections 15(a) and 15(b) plus California publicity and privacy law. It seeks $5,000 per intentional violation. Meta says the suit lacks merit and that no NameTag product has shipped to consumers.