Washington, D.C. — A diverse group of 64 civil society organizations, led by the Consumer Federation of America & UltraViolet Action, sent a letter to Congress, enforcement agencies, Meta leadership, and EssilorLuxottica—the owners of Ray-Ban and Oakley and the partners and developers of Meta glasses—vehemently opposing plans to integrate facial recognition features into Meta glasses. Despite Meta’s stated intention to release the feature during a “dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” the coalition made clear it is committed to opposing this “creepy and unacceptable escalation of surveillance on all fronts.”

The letter warns that integrating facial recognition into Meta glasses is a dangerous and reckless plan that will harm both users and the entire public, regardless of consent or awareness. It would endanger everyone, particularly by giving ammunition to scammers, blackmailers, stalkers, child abusers, and authoritarian regimes, while also creating acute and unnecessary national security risks. Even without facial recognition, Meta glasses already allow people to be secretly recorded with video and audio, with minimal transparency and significant risks that sensitive content could be accessed, shared, or weaponized.

The groups range from large unions like AFT to state advocacy groups like Louisiana Progress and New Jersey Citizen Action. Privacy organizations like EPIC and legacy advocacy groups like Public Citizen and Consumer Reports were among the many organizations committed to this effort.

The organizations stress that this outcome is not inevitable and not acceptable. They urge Meta to reverse course and commit to using every lever possible to hold the company accountable if it moves forward with this dangerous and reckless product.