Checks are being mailed to Meta Facebook users in Illinois as part of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit alleging that the business violated Illinois citizens’ rights by capturing and storing digitized scans of their faces without their permission.
While over a million Illinois residents are set to receive money, the case and the legislation that Facebook is accused of breaching affect many more users in a different way.
Some augmented reality effects, such as filters and avatars, are no longer available on Facebook and Instagram across the state, after a decision by Meta, the social networks’ parent company, to remove such features due to privacy rules.
Meta’s Privacy Policy Is A Concern
Last Monday, Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, took down augmented reality filters — 3D overlays that modify a user’s look or add accessories like hats, facial hair, or comical dog ears and snouts — across its platforms in California. At the time, Meta stated that it would allow Texans to reinstate the banned functionality. Other Instagram filters, such as those that adjust merely the lighting or add colors to photographs, were still available.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the California-based corporation two months ago, alleging that several of its methods and services violated Texans’ privacy. The case is part of a long-running spat between Texas officials and social media firms.
The filters were reactivated on Wednesday, but only after they added a checkbox asking users to approve the features’ usage, which read: “estimate the position of portions of your face.” Users will need to upgrade to the current version of the Instagram app to get the opt-in experience, according to Meta spokesperson Jennifer Martinez.
