A viral account is using off-the-shelf facial recognition tech to dox random people on the internet for the amusement of millions of viewers. One victim said they “felt a bit violated really.”

The 90,000 follower-strong account typically picks targets who appeared in other viral videos, or people suggested to the account in the comments. Many of the account’s videos show the process: screenshotting the video of the target, cropping images of the face, running those photos through facial recognition software, and then revealing the person’s full name, social media profile, and sometimes employer to millions of people who have liked the videos.

  • ailiphiliaOP
    1·
    1 year ago

    The account has now deleted its dozens of videos

    It is not exactly clear why the account owner deleted the videos, but it appears this was a decision by the user and not a TikTok content moderation decision. TikTok previously told 404 Media the account did not violate the social network’s terms because it believed the account was only using public information. This was despite one content moderation expert pointing to TikTok’s own anti-doxing policy, and how this kind of disclosure raises the risk of harm against targeted people.