A Facebook executive confirmed that the social media giant could release facial recognition glasses this year in partnership with Luxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban, Buzzfeed reported on Thursday (Feb. 25).
Andrew Bosworth, vice president of augmented and virtual reality at Facebook, told employees that the firm is still weighing the legal implications and individual state laws. Facebook is planning to launch smart glasses this year with or without facial recognition built in.
During the company wide meeting, an unnamed employee asked Bosworth about privacy concerns raised by facial recognition, including stalkers.
‘(That] might be the thorniest issue,’ Bosworth replied. ‘Where the benefits are so clear, and the risks are so clear, and we don’t know where to balance those things.’
Privacy has been a sore subject for Facebook, which is shelling out $650 million to settle a suit alleging it violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act by using members’ data to tag people in photos.
‘Face recognition is a hugely controversial topic and for good reason, Bosworth tweeted. ‘… I was speaking about how we are going to have to have a very public discussion about the pros and cons.’
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