Meta Platforms Inc. was accused in a new proposed class action of harvesting and exploiting the biometric data of its users and others to build facial-recognition and generative-AI technologies in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

The social media company collected images uploaded to its Facebook and Instagram platforms without user consent, and used them to train the AI-powered facial-recognition features of its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses, according to a complaint filed Friday.

The filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois increases pressure on Meta over privacy concerns related to its smart …