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.
44 incidents closest to “FACE Plus” · matched on meaning · public reporting
The system could identify strangers via smart glasses and collected biometric data from users and non-users without consent.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Facebook agreed to pay $550 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging its Tag Suggestions tool scanned users' faces without consent, violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The case, ongoing since 2015, resulted in a settlement for eligible Illinois users. Facebook later made facial recognition opt-in.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Meta đối mặt vụ kiện mang tính bước ngoặt về an toàn số trẻ em - bnews.vn
A trial is underway in California in which Meta is accused of designing Facebook and Instagram to negatively impact children. A former Meta employee testified that some safety tools were deliberately made ineffective. A coalition of U.S. states alleges Meta prioritized profits over safety by creating addictive features, and the company could face penalties up to $200 billion if it loses.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Harvard student Yuen Ler Chow created FaceTag, a facial recognition app that allows users to scan fellow students' faces to obtain their names and contact information. The app has raised privacy and ethical concerns among students and faculty, though Chow has implemented a permission feature to address some issues. No actual harm has been reported.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
A sponsored Facebook video used deepfake technology to manipulate footage of Bulgarian actor Mihail Bilalov, making it appear he endorsed a joint pain product. The video, created with artificial intelligence, superimposed fabricated audio and altered lip movements. Clicking the ad led to a fake article mimicking a Bulgarian news site, which was actually a sales page for an unregulated product. Factcheck.bg identified the video as a deepfake and warned that similar ads featured other Bulgarian celebrities.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The facial recognition system matched Angela Lipps to a suspect's photo, leading to her arrest and detention.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Security researchers at Bkav in Singapore demonstrated a method to unlock an iPhone X using a 3D-printed mask, makeup, and 2D images, bypassing Apple's Face ID facial recognition system. The proof-of-concept attack, which cost £115 to create, raises concerns for high-profile individuals whose devices could be targeted. Apple stated that Face ID is designed to be secure and that they worked with mask makers to prevent such bypasses, but the vulnerability was shown just ten days after the phone's release.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook removed over 900 accounts, pages, and groups associated with The BL, a network that used AI-generated profile photos to spread pro-Trump content to 55 million users. Researchers from Graphika and DFRLab found that the network used generative adversarial networks to create fake faces, marking the first large-scale use of AI-generated images in an influence operation. The accounts were operated from Vietnam and the US, and were linked to The Epoch Times. Facebook's action came after the researchers identified the inauthentic activity.
6 source articles · read the reporting →
A woman in Nanjing, China, reported that her colleague's face was able to unlock her iPhone X, and the same issue occurred with a replacement device. An Apple spokesman suggested the phones may have been trained to recognise both faces during passcode setup. The incident highlights a potential vulnerability in the facial recognition system. No harm was reported, and Apple has not examined the devices.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
During an immigration raid in Oregon, ICE agents used the Mobile Fortify facial recognition app on a detained woman to determine her identity and immigration status. The app returned two different incorrect names, according to testimony from a CBP official. ICE has claimed the app provides a definitive determination of immigration status, but this incident raises concerns about its accuracy. The misidentification could have led to wrongful removal proceedings.
1 source article · read the reporting →
iPhone X users report that Face ID consistently fails to recognise their faces first thing in the morning, forcing them to enter a passcode. The issue appears linked to morning facial puffiness or half-closed eyes, which the algorithm does not account for. Apple has not acknowledged the specific problem, suggesting only general troubleshooting tips. The failure causes frustration and is seen as a design flaw in the facial recognition system.
1 source article · read the reporting →
In April 2024, anonymous Facebook pages sponsored deepfake videos of Bulgarian actor Kamen Donev and other public figures to advertise a joint pain cream. The manipulated footage, taken from a television appearance, used AI-generated audio and altered lip movements to falsely depict Donev endorsing the product. Clicking the ad led to a fabricated article imitating a news site, which served as a sales platform for a product not available in pharmacies.
1 source article · read the reporting →
FaceApp, a face-editing app that uses neural networks, came under criticism after users found that its 'hot' filter automatically lightened their skin. The company's CEO apologised and said the effect was an unintended side-effect of training set bias. The filter was renamed 'spark' while a full fix was being developed.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The RCMP in British Columbia secretly subscribed to IntelCenter's facial recognition service, which matched faces against a database of 700,000 faces tied to terrorism. Internal emails revealed the force broke its own procurement rules and hid the purchase. The RCMP claimed it was only for testing, but documents showed active use. The contracts ended in 2019.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The face-swapping app Facemega, owned by Chinese company Wondershare, promoted a sexually suggestive advertisement featuring the face of actor Emma Watson without her consent. The ad, which showed a woman with Watson's face in a provocative pose, ran on Facebook until it was removed following media coverage. Apple and Google also removed the app from their stores for policy violations. An attorney commented that such deepfake technology could be used as a weapon against women, highlighting the potential for reputational and privacy harms.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Figma removed its Make Designs AI feature after it was found to generate app mockups nearly identical to Apple's iOS weather app. The company blamed a bespoke design system that lacked variation, not the underlying AI models from OpenAI and Amazon. Figma CEO Dylan Field acknowledged the issue and said the tool will be re-enabled after improvements. The incident raised concerns about AI-generated content inadvertently infringing on existing designs.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook commissioned an independent human rights impact assessment that concluded the company was not doing enough to prevent its platform from being used to foment division and incite offline violence in Myanmar. The assessment, conducted by BSR, found that Facebook's content moderation and AI systems failed to adequately detect and remove hate speech and misinformation, contributing to real-world harm. Facebook acknowledged the findings and implemented corrective measures, including hiring more local language reviewers and improving AI detection.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Two artists and an advertising company created a deepfake video of Mark Zuckerberg using CannyAI's video dialogue replacement technology and uploaded it to Instagram. The video shows Zuckerberg saying things he never said about controlling data. Facebook stated it would treat the content as misinformation and de-prioritize it. The incident tests Facebook's policies on manipulated media.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
In late 2022, Graphika observed the pro-Chinese influence operation Spamouflage promoting videos featuring AI-generated fictitious people. The footage was created using a commercial AI video platform from a UK company. The videos were low-quality and received fewer than 300 views, but Graphika warns that such tools could enable more convincing deception at scale.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook users in Illinois allege that Facebook collected their biometric face data without notice or consent through its Tag Suggestions tool, which uses facial recognition software. The class action, Patel v Facebook, was brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Facebook disputes the claim, arguing that the users suffered no harm beyond the alleged statutory violation. The case was before the Ninth Circuit on an appeal of the class certification.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
嘉兴小学生发现用打印照片即可破解丰巢智能柜的刷脸取件功能。丰巢回应称该功能为试运营beta版本，已紧急下线。该漏洞源于2D人脸识别技术，容易被照片欺骗。
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Senator Chuck Schumer posted on X calling on the FBI and FTC to investigate national security and privacy risks of FaceApp, a photo-editing app owned by a Russia-based company. The app requires users to provide full, irrevocable access to their personal photos and data. Schumer's post alleges that millions of Americans who used the app may be at risk.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
A class action lawsuit alleges that Facebook, Inc. illegally harvested the facial scans of over 100 million Instagram users without their consent, in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The lawsuit claims that Facebook's facial recognition software automatically scanned faces in photos and created biometric templates without providing required notices or obtaining informed consent. The case was sent to arbitration in March 2022 after a federal judge found that the plaintiffs agreed to Instagram's arbitration clause.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Workaround, an AI startup, published the COVID19 Mask Image Dataset in April 2020, containing more than 1,200 photographs of people wearing face masks scraped from Instagram without their knowledge or consent. The dataset was intended to help train facial recognition algorithms so they could identify people whose faces are partly covered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm's chief executive acknowledged that the people pictured were not asked for permission and were unaware they were included. Facebook said it was investigating and does not allow third parties to use photos in this way without consent.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
