Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees are wearing Meta glasses on duty, and apparently, the agency is not happy about it. According to The New York Times, ICE sent a memo to its staff, prohibiting the use of Meta's smart glasses on the job.
ICE bans Meta's smart glasses
ICE sent a memo to its employees, barring the use of Meta's smart glasses. | Image by Meta
The memo, sent to the employees, stated that "the use of Meta Glasses or similar devices could unintentionally capture, record, or transmit sensitive information, potentially compromising privacy and legal protections."
This policy is not something new and covers all employees of the agency, not just field agents. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The New York Times that staff workers have "always" been banned from using "personally owned body-worn cameras."
The recent memo is just a reminder of that policy, and the specific mention of Meta's smart glasses speaks volumes.
How do you feel about government officials wearing face-recognition glasses?
ICE staff has been spotted wearing Meta's glasses
Border Patrol unit spotted wearing Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses on the job. | Image by 404 Media
It turns out Meta's smart glasses pop up quite often during ICE and Border Patrol operations, which prompted the memo. Over the last months there were several reports of agents wearing Meta's glasses during operations. One Border Patrol agent was spotted recording with the glasses despite the policy, 404 Media reports.
Another case saw a Border Patrol employee wearing the glasses during an immigration raid. Similar cases have popped up in six more states, according to an investigation carried out by The Independent. One video shows DHS agent using Meta's smart glasses to record protesters.
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ICE actually wants a specialized Meta glasses model for its employees
DHS agent using Meta's smart glasses to record protesters. | Image by The Independent
The irony here is that, apparently, ICE wants an official version of the glasses for its employees. Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein dug deep into budget documents and found out that
ICE is hoping to tap into Meta's "biometric identification capabilities" by next year.
Think about ICE agents walking around and scanning faces without anyone noticing in search of illegal immigrants. The intent might be legally sound, but it looks like a scene from a dystopian science-fiction movie, at least to me.
Meta isn't winning new fans
The latest development and the ICE memo aren't doing Meta a favor. The company has been making headlines after WIRED found a code in the Meta AI app pointing toward a face-recognition feature for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
Digging deeper into this, our colleagues at WIRED found out that Meta hired a Pentagon supplier to develop the face recognition feature for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
A deal with ICE could result in new backlash and further alienate smart glasses users. Such a deal could be quite lucrative for Meta, though, so the jury's still out. How do you feel about government officials wearing face-recognition glasses?
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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