Lifestyle

Instagram disables some filters for Texans


Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has removed the ability to use some filters in Texas, citing the state’s facial recognition law.

TYLER, Texas – **Editor’s Note – the attached video was produced in February 2021. The article has been updated to reflect the statement of the Media team from Meta.

Instagram users in Texas may notice that they can’t access filters on Stories or posts starting Wednesday.

Filters are used on Instagram as an overlay on an image to enhance or change the original look of an image. As of May 11, Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has removed the ability to use some of these filters. Meta says this is due to Texas facial recognition laws.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed litigation against Meta on the grounds that the company allegedly abused their facial recognition technology. Lawsuit Statuses companies like Meta cannot use Texas biometric information and store it in their systems without their consent or prior knowledge.

Paxton tells why the filter breaks Texas Biometric Identification Numbers Collection or Use Act is that they learn the user’s face and can automatically tag or associate a person with an image, often without the consent of the tagged user.

Therefore, it is not possible to use any filter that uses geometry on the face, such as an augmented reality filter in state lines. Filters that only change the color or the background of the image are still usable, or that don’t take the shape of the user’s face are still allowed.

This ban on augmented reality filters is also happening in Illinois. Illinois has a law similar to the CUBI Act in Texas, called Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which means the filter also cannot be used in the state lines of Illinois. At the end of April 2022, Facebook resolved class action lawsuit for more than 1.4 million users in Illinois.

The lawsuit alleges Facebook “collected and stored biometric data of Facebook users in Illinois without proper notice or consent,” in violation of Illinois law with its tag and technology proposals. other facial recognition technology. Settlement payments began being sent to residents who fit the definition of “Facebook users in Illinois for whom Facebook created and stored facial templates after June 7, 2011.”

Texas’ lawsuit against Facebook was filed in February 2022, so a resolution or decision has yet to be made. But disabling the filters in Texas and Illinois was done by settlement in Illinois.

A statement from the Communications team at Meta describes the rationale for disabling the filter in both Texas and Illinois:

“The technology we use to power augmented reality effects like avatars and filters is not facial recognition or any other technology governed by Texas and Illinois laws and is not used to identify anyone. However, we are taking this step to prevent useless and distracting litigation under the laws in these two states based on misrepresenting how our features work. We remain committed to delivering the AR experiences people love and the diverse list of creators used to grow their businesses without any friction or confusion.”

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