Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is launching a facial recognition tool to detect scam adverts featuring images of celebrities in Britain, the European Union and South Korea.

Meta has already tested the tool in other countries, where it plans to expand the feature to cover more celebrities.

David Agranovich, Meta’s cyber threats director, said public figures in Britain and the EU will start receiving notifications in coming weeks allowing them to opt-in to receive the “celeb-bait” protection tool with facial recognition technology.

“We do believe that this tool will help us identify misused images of public figures,” even if the ad uses generative artificial intelligence, Agranovich told reporters.

Fake adverts featuring doctored images of celebrities are widespread on social media, often luring users into sharing personal information or sending money.

If a public figure enables Meta’s new feature, the tool will scan their profile picture and compare it with faces appearing in suspected fake ads, which will be automatically blocked if misuse is confirmed.

Meta also announced it will integrate facial recognition into its account recovery tools for all users.

Those opting in will be able to verify their identity by recording a short video if their account is locked.

The company said facial data would be used only for this verification process and deleted immediately afterwards. It added that the technology complies with European data protection regulations.

Meta had previously halted facial recognition on its platforms in 2021 over privacy concerns but announced in October 2024 that it would reinstate the technology to combat deceptive ads.

AFP