Facebook's parent company Meta is testing face-recognition software from Rank One Computing, a firm with deep ties to government surveillance tools. The arrangement, documented in a software license obtained by WIRED, offers insight into how consumer tech may soon merge with law enforcement and military technology.

The partnership allows for liveness detection alongside Rank One's facial recognition capabilities, which can identify faces from up to a kilometer away. Despite these potentially invasive features, Meta has since deleted the face-recognition systems from its app, though remnants remain dormant in some user versions.

Rank One Computing’s leadership is rooted in law enforcement and intelligence, raising questions about the ethical implications of such technology being integrated into everyday consumer devices. Critics warn that without proper regulation, this could lead to significant privacy risks.

The article notes that Rank One's face-recognition systems do not perform equally across demographic groups, leading to higher error rates for women compared to men and certain ethnicities. This further complicates the ethical landscape as such technology becomes more widespread.