Image by Diego González, from Unsplash
Privacy Experts Alarmed By Law Enforcement Use of Meta Smart Glasses
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
A CBP agent wore Meta AI smart glasses during a Los Angeles immigration raid, raising privacy concerns among civil liberties experts and watchdogs.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Smart glasses feature camera, live streaming, microphones, and AI integration.
- CBP policy prohibits using personal devices for official law enforcement recordings.
- Experts warn smart glasses use raises serious privacy and civil rights concerns.
A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent was seen wearing Meta’s AI-powered smart glasses during a June 30 immigration raid outside a Home Depot in Cypress Park, Los Angeles, videos and photos verified by 404 Media reveal .
Meta does not have a contract with CBP, and it’s unclear if the agent recorded any video during the raid.
Experts expressed concern over the use of such technology by law enforcement. Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, told 404 Media:
“There needs to be compliance with rules and laws even if a technology is not handed out through the department. The questions around [smart glasses are ones] we’re going to have to grapple with very soon and they’re pretty alarming.”
Meta’s Ray-Ban AI glasses feature a camera, microphones, live-streaming, and AI capabilities. Though the glasses do not currently have facial recognition, studies show they can be combined with off-the-shelf tools for near real-time identification .
CBP’s policy prohibits the use of personally owned video devices for official recordings. Yet, enforcement of such regulations during immigration raids has weakened under the Trump administration, as noted by 404 Media.
Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the ACLU, said to 404 Media: “Use of cameras can be seen as part of that [intimidation]. It’s in line with the masking that we’ve seen, and generally behavior that’s intended to terrorize people.”
404 Media notes that Meta recently partnered with defense contractor Anduril to provide AI and augmented reality tech to the military. CEO Mark Zuckerberg called smart glasses a future primary way to interact with AI.
Privacy experts warn the presence of such technology on law enforcement agents raises serious civil liberties concerns.
Image by franco alva, from Unsplash
Adult Sites Use Malware-Laced SVG Files to Hijack Facebook Likes
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
As more countries require age verification on adult websites, some shady adult sites are using sophisticated malware tricks to promote themselves on Facebook.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Trojan.JS.Likejack silently clicks “Like” on Facebook without user consent.
- SVG files can contain harmful JavaScript, not just images.
- Many promoted sites claim AI-generated explicit celebrity images.
Security researchers at Malwarebytes discovered that dozens of adult websites use hidden malicious code in SVG image files, leading users to “Like” Facebook posts without their consent.
The attackers do this by embedding dangerous JavaScript code within the SVG graphic files, which can contain both pictures, as well as malicious scripts.
“When one of these people clicks on the image, it causes browsers to surreptitiously register a like for Facebook posts promoting the site,” explains ArsTechnica . “The user will have to be logged in on Facebook for this to work, but we know many people keep Facebook open for easy access,” said Malwarebytes researcher Pieter Arntz.
The malicious code is heavily disguised using a method called “JSFuck,” which turns the JavaScript into confusing text, making detection difficult. Once triggered, it downloads a Trojan, named ‘‘Trojan.JS.Likejack,’’ which starts to silently click on adult content posts to increase their visibility throughout Facebook.
Many of the promoted sites claim to show explicit celebrity photos, often generated by AI, and are hosted on free blogging platforms like blogspot.com.
The attackers exploit the misconception that SVG files represent harmless images to execute their campaign. The combination of HTML and JavaScript code within SVG files transforms them into dangerous tools for cyberattacks.
Facebook regularly shuts down abusive accounts, but the malicious profiles frequently return, making this an ongoing problem.
