Tech company relies on AI to enforce many of its content rules and guidelines

Meta is testing facial recognition on Facebook and Instagram to combat scams involving fake ads and celebrity impersonation, aiming to safeguard users from deceitful engagements.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is to test new uses of facial recognition technology to detect and stop scammers from misusing the images of celebrities and public figures for fake ads.

Celebrities including Elon Musk and Martin Lewis repeatedly feature in ads for products they have not endorsed.

Meta said it will use facial recognition on suspected scam ads to verify if the celebrity images are genuine or fraudulent.

The Facebook parent company will start using the tech to crack down on scams that use pictures of celebrities to look more legitimate as well as to better assist users who get locked out of their accounts.