tonight on "nightline," tagged. out of 20 billion photos, they know who you are and what you look like. and today, facebook comes under fire for using face recognition technology on every photo you share. is it cool or creepy? and how does it work? blockbuster time. summer is the season for movies to go big. and so, hollywood is reaching for a sequel, or two, or three. and just maybe some surprises. we'll look at what they're serving up with all that popcorn. and, the accused. a highly publicized alleged terror plot. muslims in the u.s. army accused of a conspiracy to poison soldiers. now, in an exclusive interview, they tell us the real story.

>> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with cynthia mcfadden, terry moran, bill weir, and tonight, juju chang in new york city, this is "nightline," june 10th, 2011. >> and good evening, i'm juju chang. science fiction almost got it right. face recognition technology has become part of daily life. but except instead of controlling security access to top secret spy facilities, the technology is being used to identify the people in that crazy picture from last weekend's beach party. it's all happening, of course, on facebook, which has been quietly using face recognition software on every photo you upload. and today, a privacy group filed a complaint against facebook. with a government regulatory agency. here's nick schifrin. >> reporter: facebook knows me. it knows my friends. it tracks what i like. where i live. and knows my sisters are kristy and laura. but now, facebook also knows,

well, my face. of all its 500 million users, it can recognize my face. my face out of everyone else's. not just mine. if you're on facebook, facebook can recognize your face, too. here's how. while we've been uploading more than 20 billion photos, facebook has been making biometric fingerprints of all our mugs. and now facebook has a massive collection of our faces. probably the largest collection in the world. kind of cool. kind of creepy. controversial enough that european union privacy officials have launched an investigation. here's how it works. that's our intern, brenna williams. >> i'm going to upload photos of myself. >> reporter: she's one of millions of people who is using this feature already. when she uploads photos, facebook recognizes her and her friends and says, hey, that's you, right? most of the time, it is, and tagging becomes almost automated. face recognition technology has

been around for awhile. mostly used by police. they scan people walking into the super bowl and caught 19 criminals. the guys at face.com in israel showed us how facebook technology works. they are the largest facial recognition company online. >> this is nick. >> reporter: once they had my photo, the computer recognized me no matter where i was, every time. >> this is awesome to us. we're glad there is a way to make face recognition work without scaring away people and by providing them the value without the creepy factor. >> reporter: yes, it is kind of cool. if you have hundreds, even thousands of unsorted photos, you can upload them and you've got a searchable online album instantly. iphoto and others already do that, but here's the difference. on iphoto, the information stays on your computer. on facebook, you and 500 million other people tag each other and

that stays online forever. >> there's something going on here that we didn't know about and probably didn't agree to. and that does cross the creepy line. >> reporter: mark rotenberg runs a privacy group. today it filed a complaint with the federal trade commission that says facebook uses this technology without considering the risk. >> there is so much on facebook that feels very open and transparent. we can see what we post on our walls, we can see the images in which we're tagged. but when it turns out behind the curtain, facebook is building a giant database -- >> reporter: facebook's critics say they have changed the privacy settings before. and not told us. facebook did announce the face recognition option in december in a small blog post. but it's up to us to go deep into our settings and opt out of new features rather than opt in. today, facebook opted out of talking to us on camera. but it told us nobody has complained and pointed out, this only works for your friends.

and not the larger facebook community. critics aren't convinced. >> we think facebook's interest in almost all of these privacy disputes has been to try to encourage people, cajole people, maybe even trick people into disclosing more personal information than they might otherwise choose to disclose. >> reporter: which got us at "nightline" thinking. could we trick facebook? and upload photos of things that obviously aren't me. mr. potato head, chewbacca, this guy. all now tagged nick schifrin. maybe facebook won't recognize me now. i tried one other way to confuse the computer. we sent that photo to the guys at face.com and, yeah, they recognized me even in my cover-up. which just goes to show that a disguise may tool your friends. but it probably won't fool facebook. for "nightline," i'm nick schifrin in new york. >> nice try.

and you, too, can try out the "nightline" facial recognition challenge. go to the "nightline" facebook page and test your photo against the facial recognition software. if you see what you like, give us a like. just ahead, hollywood has big plans for your summer, and that means sequels, stars and things that go boom. we'll show you what's playing. host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? host: would foghorn leghorn make a really bad book narrator? foghorn (stammering): it was the best of times, it was the wor - i say worst of times. and by worst i'm talkin' as bad, i say, as bad as my aunt ginny's corn puddin'. that stuff'll sink you like a stne. engineer: ok that was a little... foghorn: you gettin' all this in there son? i just added that last part it's called "adlibbin..."anyway...it was, isay it was... vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. i bet it could last through some artsy foreign film.

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it's almost summer, and that means pirates terrorizing the high seas, cowboys in shootouts against aliens. and flying saucers vaporizing entire national capitals. all in good fun, of course. it's blockbuster season, and this year, a cash-strapped hollywood has teed up a go for

broke mix of sequels, knock-offs and smash-ups. plus maybe a surprise or two. tonight, david wright takes a sneak peek. >> production value! >> reporter: summertime is when hollywood goes into a frenzy. >> ready, start filming the extra loud when the train passes by. >> reporter: a new blockbuster each weekend. tonight's big opening? "super 8." >> for me this is the movie to look out for. this is like the second coming of "e.t." and "close encounters." >> reporter: the only big movie this summer that's original, not a sequel or a rip-off. the only big movie this summer without a single star you've ever seen before. >> how am i supposed to be a zombie? >> did you ever have miss mullen for english? >> yeah. >> kind of like her, but hungry for human flesh. >> reporter: to say anything about the plot here would spoil the surprises. so, the marketing campaign for this movie has pretty much focused exclusively on the brand names behind the camera.

the producer who brought you "e.t." the director who came up with "lost." >> when you put a j.j. abrams and a steven spielberg with the movie, it enables people to feel confident about spending their money on that film. >> reporter: everybody is going to order the chicken chow mein. summer is the season of box office chow mein. usually served in the form of a sequel. >> sequels now, today, in this world, often outperform their predecessors. not only in box office but oft times even in critical acclaim. used to be sequelses, that was a dirty word. >> reporter: in the first quarter of this year, box office revenues were down 20%. so, hollywood needs blockbusters right now. this summer, they may have them. "hangover ii," biggest opening ever for a comedy, earning nearly $86 million. "transformers 3," forecast to earn $460 million world wide. "pirates of the caribbean 4,"

$795 million and counting. the biggest of them all is expected to be "harry potter." >> that's a recipe for success. >> reporter: there's nothing new. >> hey, audiences want to know what they're spending their money on. they know jack sparrow is in this movie. they're going to reach in for their 12 bucks, maybe 15. you can't blame it all on hollywood. >> reporter: summer is the time for super heros. this summer, there's thor, captain america and -- >> brightest day and blackest night. >> reporter: green lantern. as super heroes go, these might well be considered scene stealers. >> i don't know how many people know green lantern. but ryan reynolds is in it, they know him. >> reporter: going to the bottom end of the superhero friends -- >> that's the thing. when they have to dig deep for the super friend -- >> reporter: the hall of justice is emptying out. >> exactly. >> reporter: which may be why the origins of the "x men" generated so much enthusiasm in its opening weekend. >> and the water cooler now is

twitter, facebook. it's not just waiting three days for monday morning to go talk to your friends about it. which also, it's a double-edged sword for the studios. >> reporter: no longer do studio executives have to wait until monday morning to see if their movie is a box office hit. professor jonathan caplan of usc has a computer model that looks at the tweets people send. >> we take the total twitter feed and we look for the movie title. so, you can churn through 50, 100, 200,000 twitter feeds in a couple of hours. then it just makes a chart of those and says who is getting talked about the most and also by sentiment. >> reporter: by this measurement, "x men" showed huge promise in the first 24 hours in cinema. >> "x men" is just below "harry potter" and "hangover" in terms of volume. its sentiment is very positive. >> reporter: sure enough, "x

men" did $56 million in its opening weekend. the biggest movie this summer? >> harry potter. you have fought valiantly. >> reporter: hands down, it's expected to be that little wizard. worth his weight in gold. why "harry potter?" >> well, harry potter is the end of an era. the highest-grossing franchise of all-time. by the time they are finished, "deathly hallows part 2," this franchise will be over $7 billion worldwide. >> reporter: this time, harry potter won't be the only one wearing glasses. >> harry potter will be in 3d for the first time. >> reporter: last year, the gimmick of 3d, led by "avatar" and "alice in wonderland," helped push profits up, even while attendance was down. >> last summer was the highest grossing summer of all time with $4.35 billion in revenue. so, that's the good news, right? bad news is, it was the lowest attended summer since 1997. >> reporter: because they jacked up the price of movie tickets? >> the pricing. because of higher ticket prices due to 3d and other various

things raising the ticket price, it -- >> reporter: sheer greed. this summer, greed may not be enough. >> finish this the way we started. >> reporter: if the studios hope to coax people off their coaches and into the theaters, the movie has to be good. i'm david wright for "nightline" in hollywood. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? do you think that would help? yeah. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.95, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. there's another way to minimize

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the headlines were shocking. five soldiers in the u.s. army, detained on suspicion of being terrorists, out to poison their fellow soldiers. the military now admits 16 months later that the accusations were unfounded. but the men in question are finding there's no going back to life as usual. here's our chief law and justice correspondent chris cuomo from our series, "nightline investigates." >> reporter: in december 2009, just a month after a muslim officer went on a shooting spree at ft. hood, the army arrested five other muslim soldiers as suspected terrorists. >> five muslim soldiers had been under investigation. >> reporter: first, it was a christian broadcasting network. then fox news. airing accusations that the men tried to poison their fellow soldiers. >> attempted to poison the food supply at ft. jackson. >> it was funny to me at first. i'm like, this is crazy.

>> reporter: yasin was one of the muslims arrested. now for the first time his fellow soldier khalid are telling their story on television. >> united states is known for fighting for other people's freedom. i wanted to help doing that. >> reporter: the two men emigrated to the u.s. from morocco. once here, they decided to sign up for perhaps the military's most dangerous job. arabic translators for the army in afghanistan and iraq. >> we want to prove to arabic nation, we live with americans. we know how they are good. >> reporter: in june 2009, they and three other recruits were sent to ft. jackson, south carolina, to begin training for the translator program that would put them on a fast track for u.s. citizenship. but in the wake of those shootings at ft. hood, the men say fellow soldiers at ft. jackson began to turn on them because of their background and religion. >> i heard, watch out, they may shoot us. hajis.

>> reporter: hajis? >> all different names. >> reporter: the anti-muslim sentiment was caught on tape by a fellow recruit. >> i don't want them dirty hajis [ bleep ] over me. [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. >> reporter: shortly after that tape was made, the five were arrested and accused of plotting to poison their fellow soldiers. >> i will never forget what this agent told me. we are at war against islam. and you are muslim. >> reporter: the men were never charged with anything. but they were detained in their barracks for weeks, not allowed to even use the bathroom without an escort. >> i didn't feel that i am in america, honestly. >> reporter: after 45 days of detention, the five were suddenly let go without explanation. any apologies? >> no apologies. >> reporter: any "we got it wrong"? >> no. >> you're muslim in the military, you are considered someone who is suspect. >> reporter: michael weinstein

says many muslim soldiers report being routinely harassed in the military. >> they are reminded every day in every way that they are not as good, they are not as courageous, they are not as trustworthy. >> reporter: khalid and yasin say the stigma of the ft. jackson probe followed them even after they returned to washington, d.c. to join their national guard units. according to the army, all of the accusations against the muslim recruits were unfounded, yet, they found that their anticipated u.s. citizenship was put on hold. and there was a more immediate problem. a job-related background check on yasin showed that he had been under investigation for attempting to harm other soldiers. >> who is going to hire you? >> reporter: how far have you tried to go to correct the situation? >> we went through chain of command. nobody want to listen. nobody is listening to us. >> reporter: so, we tried to get some answers. chris cuomo, abc news. the army denied it had subjected the soldiers to racial harassment and insisted their records had been cleared.

after the allegations proved to be unfounded. you did an investigation, it showed nothing. why aren't you helping them? but the army admitted the ft. jackson detention sparked an fbi probe of the men, as well. the bureau refused to comment on the investigation, but as long as it continues, the men's citizenship and background checks will be affected. >> these young men are prepared at this moment to deploy and go into harm's way. instead, they've been labeled radioactive. >> reporter: the fallout from the investigation sent yasin into a downward spiral. when we met him he had no job and spent his days living out of his car. still paying the price for a fateful decision to join the u.s. army. >> i join the army to fight for other people's freedom. and i ended up losing mine. >> reporter: this is chris cuomo for "nightline" in new york. >> and we give our thanks to chris cuomo for that report. thanks for watching abc news. we hope you tune in for "good morning america," bright and early. ey