Countering Celebrity Image Scams with Facial Recognition Technology

Matt counters celebrity image scams by using facial recognition to identify fraudulent ads featuring celebrities.

### Combating Celebrity Image Scams and Enhancing Account Recovery with Facial Recognition
* 🚨 Matt is addressing the issue of **scammers using celebrity images in ads** to create fraudulent websites that **steal personal data and money**.
* 🎭 These scammers leverage the familiarity of celebrities to make their scams appear legitimate, **increasing the likelihood of users clicking on these ads**.
* 🛡 To combat this, the company plans to implement **facial recognition software** to identify if a celebrity's image in an ad matches their **official likeness**, potentially flagging it as a **scam**.
* 📱 Additionally, for users locked out of their accounts, the company is testing a new method where individuals can **submit a video selfie for identity verification**, speeding up the recovery process.
* ⏱ This video selfie approach is designed to be **quick**, taking about **a minute**, and the company assures users that all data will be **deleted immediately after verification**.
* 🌐 With around **3.3 billion users** across its platforms, the company aims to **automate account recovery** to keep up with the volume of requests.
* 🤖 As AI technology improves, the company sees this as a way to **streamline processes and reduce the need for human involvement**, although it faces scrutiny over its past use of **facial recognition technology**.
* ⚖ Given its history of lawsuits regarding user consent, it remains to be seen how this renewed focus on facial recognition will unfold and whether it will lead to **further legal challenges**.

What is the kind of malicious activity that Matt is trying to counter here in terms of celebrity image? Yeah. So sometimes scammers will run an ad that links to like a scam website, right? Well, they'll try to steal your data. They'll try to get you to send money. And they will use as part of the ad pictures of real celebrities to try and make it seem more authentic or more legitimate. Right. Oftentimes people will see an image of a celebrity and therefore think, oh, it's an endorsement by them or it's someone they're familiar with and they're more likely to click. And so in this case, better saying, hey, we noticed these ads are happening, we notice these scams are happening. And so they're now going to use facial recognition software to try and match. Is there a celebrity in this ad? Does it match up with the celebrity on the service? And if so, maybe that's a scam.

We should try to take that ad down. And then for anyone who's ever been locked out of their accounts, many of us have. You're no longer going to have to suddenly get your passport ready. They might use the technology for that as well. That's right. So they're going to start testing this idea of sending in a video selfie. Right. So it's pretty much exactly what it sounds like to hold up your phone, take a short video of your face, send it in to matter. They will then match that video to photos associated with the account. If there's a match, they'll say, okay, this is indeed Kurt's account and you can get back in. They said the whole thing could take about a minute and they'll delete the video and any data associated with it immediately after. This is something that they're trying to do to expedite this process, because as you mentioned, Caroline, right now, they

have other ways to verify identity, but it's a lot more cumbersome. You might have to send in a picture of your ID or a passport or something like that. And so they're thinking that this could be a faster way of getting people back to their accounts automatically if they do get locked out. Why does matter do this? What's the motivation for them? Well, I think think of the scale that it operates on. Right. There's almost, I believe, 3.3 billion users across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, all of their different services. And so people are getting locked out every single day. They can't keep up with this from a human standpoint. Right. They need to automate these things. And I think as A.I. has gotten better, as the technology has gotten better, they're seeing, hey, here's a way to do this much quicker. Presumably in the future you've been much cheaper.

You don't need humans involved. And so, you know, I think it's just part of their overall push toward AI and use advancements in technology to help people out. In just 30 seconds, though, there is a complex relationship with facial recognition technology in matter in the past. Well met has been sued several times in the past for using this technology to profit without really giving users appropriate recognition. Appropriate way to opt in. Right. And so this is a type of technology they've sort of been hammered on in the past. They walked away from it for a couple of years and now it feels like they're sort of dipping their toe back into it. So it'll be interesting to see if there's more lawsuits that ultimately come of them trying to kind of get back into the facial recognition space.

Meta Fights Back with Facial Recognition Technology

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Matt's Counteraction Against Celebrity Image Scams

Scammers are using real celebrity images in ads to promote fraudulent websites and steal data or money.

Matt's solution involves using facial recognition software to identify celebrities in these ads and potentially take them down.

Additionally, he plans to implement a video selfie verification process for account recovery, aiming to expedite the process and ensure data privacy.

Automating Identity Verification for Account Recovery

Meta is exploring faster ways to verify user identities, aiming to streamline account recovery for its 3.

3 billion users across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

The company is shifting from cumbersome methods, like sending in ID pictures, to automated solutions using AI technology.

This approach is intended to reduce the time and cost of helping users who get locked out of their accounts.

Meta's Controversial Use of Facial Recognition Technology

Meta is pushing towards AI and technology advancements, but has a troubled history with facial recognition.

The company has faced multiple lawsuits for profiting from the technology without proper user consent.

After a hiatus, Meta is now re-entering the facial recognition space, raising concerns about potential future legal issues.