Incidents gathered from public reporting around the world. Each one links to the articles it came from. None of it is a finding that anyone broke the law.
Reports people file about their own experience are not shown here and never will be without their agreement. Tell us what happened to you.
212 incidents closest to “FACE Plus” · matched on meaning · public reporting
Affordable deepfake tools for $24 a month are being used to generate deceptive videos targeting voters in Bangladesh's election. The technology enables the creation of realistic fake content that could mislead the electorate. The full extent of the impact and response from authorities is not yet known.
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Fourth-grade students in Jiaxing, China, demonstrated that Hive Box's facial-recognition smart lockers could be opened with a printed photo. The company, which operates a large network of delivery lockers, acknowledged the flaw and suspended the beta feature. The incident raised concerns about the security of facial recognition technology.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Huawei's Pura 70 series includes an AI retouching feature that can inadvertently remove clothing from images. Users on Weibo posted videos demonstrating this, raising privacy concerns. Huawei customer service acknowledged the issue, attributing it to algorithm loopholes, and promised a fix in upcoming system updates.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
PimEyes, a facial recognition search engine, is accused of scraping images from the internet and processing biometric data without a valid legal basis under the GDPR. The data protection authority of Baden-Württemberg (LfDI) opened fine proceedings after it found PimEyes's response to its questions inadequate. PimEyes argues that the images it processes are publicly available and not personal data. The LfDI says the processing endangers citizens' rights and freedoms and is not covered by the GDPR exceptions.
9 source articles · read the reporting →
The French National Police has been using Briefcam's Video Synopsis software since 2015, according to internal documents obtained by Disclose. The software, which includes facial recognition capabilities, was deployed without the required data protection impact assessment or notification to the CNIL. The Ministry of the Interior concealed the use of this tool for eight years. The police hierarchy allegedly used the software for facial recognition without judicial requisition, and the DGPN did not respond to requests for comment.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Delhi Police used an Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) to screen crowds at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally on December 22, 2019. The system, originally installed to find missing children, was used to identify possible disruptions. Privacy advocates called the move illegal and unconstitutional, saying it amounts to mass surveillance. Police defended the use, citing credible intelligence about possible disruptions.
6 source articles · read the reporting →
In September 2024, a user posted an AI-manipulated video that appeared to show Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazário endorsing the Plinco app, but the link led to a different game. The video was viewed about 600,000 times. A user reported it to Meta as fraud, but Meta initially left it up. After the Oversight Board selected the case, Meta acknowledged the error and removed the post for violating its fraud and spam policies.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
The developer iperov has published DeepFaceLive, a neural network for real-time face swapping, on GitHub. The tool automatically replaces a user's face in live streams and video calls with a nonexistent model or a celebrity, and the installation instructions are simple. The developer claims 95% of deepfakes on YouTube were made with the related DeepFaceLab. No specific harm is reported, but the article highlights the tool's potential for misuse.
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Meta's new AI-generated sticker feature on Facebook Messenger allowed users to create inappropriate images, including child soldiers, nude politicians, and sexualised characters. The tool, powered by Meta's Llama 2 model, was found to have insufficient content filters, enabling users to bypass restrictions with typos. Meta was contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of reporting.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Facebook's AI content moderation system banned the British charity Hundred Heroines for ten years, mistakenly confusing the word 'heroine' with the illegal drug 'heroin'. The charity, which promotes women in photography, was unable to resolve the issue through repeated attempts to contact Facebook. It has created a new page, HH Museum, as a temporary workaround while the original page remains banned.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
PimEyes, a Polish facial recognition search engine, allows users to upload a photo and find matching images from across the internet. The system scrapes billions of photos and creates biometric profiles without consent. A banker named Dylan (pseudonym) discovered that an old party photo of him was found by the system, potentially outing his private life. Privacy advocates and platforms like Instagram and YouTube are taking action against PimEyes, alleging violations of the GDPR.
6 source articles · read the reporting →
AI-generated deepfake videos impersonating Australian naturopath Barbara O'Neill are circulating on Facebook, falsely endorsing a cure for prostate problems and erectile dysfunction. The videos, which have millions of views, are part of a scam to sell products or phish for personal information. Africa Check found the videos to be deepfakes, with audio out of sync and posted by accounts unaffiliated with O'Neill, who has previously warned about such impersonations.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Tencent has introduced a feature called Zero-Point Cruise in its games, which subjects accounts registered as adults that play at night beyond a set time to facial recognition. Anyone who refuses or fails the verification is treated as a minor and logged out. Tencent says this is intended to stop children using adult identities to evade the game curfew, and that adults who mistakenly refuse can wait for the next authentication.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
A psychiatrist discovered that Facebook's 'People You May Know' feature was recommending her patients as friends to each other and to her, despite no apparent connection. One patient saw friend suggestions for older and infirm people he did not know, who were later recognized as the psychiatrist's patients. Another patient saw a fellow patient from the office elevator, revealing their full name and profile. Facebook could not explain the specific cause but suggested phone contact syncing may have been responsible.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
A man in Jiangsu, China, illegally purchased 1.95 million personal records and used AI face-swapping software to bypass facial recognition on financial platforms. He accessed 23 victims' accounts, changed five passwords, and used one account to buy two phones worth 15,996 yuan. He was convicted of infringing citizens' personal information and credit card fraud, sentenced to four years and six months in prison, and ordered to pay damages and delete the data.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Davi, a black administrative assistant, was tracked across 15 metro stations and approached by police after Bahia's facial recognition system falsely matched him to a wanted person. He was released after officers verified his identity. The system, supplied by Iecisa and Huawei, has a low accuracy rate and disproportionately affects black people. The government plans to expand it despite concerns over racial bias and errors.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
An AI-generated deepfake video manipulated a CBS News Texas anchor's image and created a fake video of the suspect in a Frisco high school stabbing. The video was posted on Instagram and reposted on multiple accounts before being taken down. The incident highlights the growing ease of creating convincing deepfakes and the spread of misinformation online.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Google hired Randstad to collect facial data to train the Pixel 4's face recognition system. Contractors allegedly targeted homeless people and unaware students, using deceptive tactics such as calling it a "selfie game" and offering $5 without informing subjects they were being recorded. Google suspended the research program and opened an investigation following the report.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Clearview AI, a secretive start-up, built a facial recognition app that matches photos to a database of more than three billion images scraped from social media and websites. More than 600 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, have used the tool to identify suspects in crimes such as shoplifting, identity theft and murder. The company monitored officers who ran a reporter's photo through the app, and its founder acknowledged designing an augmented-reality prototype but said there were no plans to release it. Critics warned the tool could end anonymity and enable misuse.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
The Xuhui District branch of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Public Security is expanding its Intelligent Image Recognition System, adding 2,500 facial recognition cameras and increased computing capacity to build profiles of residents and flag deviations. The project, contracted to US-sanctioned FiberHome, is designed to match each face to files on more than 50 million people. Officials say the system will analyse behaviour patterns and trigger early warnings.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
The CA Press Wing warned that AI-generated deepfake videos of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus are being used in gambling ads on social media. The manipulated footage, taken from genuine interviews, falsely depicts Yunus promoting betting apps. The government urged the public to be cautious and not be deceived by these fake endorsements.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Small adaptive fashion companies have had their advertisements repeatedly rejected by Facebook's automated advertising system, which misidentifies their products as medical devices. The system's inability to understand context leads to discrimination against people with disabilities. Facebook has acknowledged the issue and restored some ads, but the problem persists, highlighting biases in machine learning.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
A manipulated video falsely shows Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) honorary chairman Ahmed Dogan calling on party members to protest to protect his wealth. The deepfake video uses authentic footage from a 27 August 2024 DPS meeting and overlays AI-generated audio. It was first shared on TikTok by a satirical account and later spread on Facebook by anonymous profiles.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Global Witness and Foxglove submitted test ads containing violent hate speech in English and Swahili to Facebook. The ads were approved for publication, demonstrating that Meta's content moderation systems failed to detect the hate speech. The groups had previously conducted similar tests in Myanmar and Ethiopia with the same result. Meta did not respond to the groups' outreach.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
