Clearview AI, an emerging company that specializes in controversial facial recognition technologies, has agreed not to sell its biometric databases to companies in the United States, a huge success for the civil rights group. and the ACLU.
The ACLU and other organizations filed a lawsuit against Clearview AI two years ago for violating Illinois biometric privacy law.
This law prohibits the sharing of facial or iris recognition data, or fingerprints, for example, without the consent of the persons concerned.
The agreement announced Monday, which must be approved by the court, states that Clearview AI can no longer make its face database available to most private entities in the United States. He can continue to work with the authorities (except Illinois for five years).
Clearview can no longer treat people’s unique biometric identifiers as a source of revenue, without restrictionsaid Nathan Freed Wessler, a deputy director of the ACLU.
He hopes other potentially affected companies will react accordingly. This Agreement Demonstrates That Strong Privacy Law Can Provide Real Protections Against Abusehe added, referring to the lack of national internet privacy law in the United States.
Clearview AI, for its part, said it was pleased to have the page back. This deal is a big win for Clearview AI. It does not change its current business model.assured lawyer Lee Wolosky, on behalf of the company, who contacted the AFP.
He went continue to expand its commercial offer in accordance with the lawhe continued. And he would pay a small amount to cover publicity and costs, less money than a lawsuit is worth..
Clearview fails to consider that biometric information could be used to endanger and threaten the lives of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.underlined Linda Xóchitl Tortolero, president of Acción, a Chicago association that accepted a big win for the most vulnerable people of Illinois.
Clearview AI, specifically funded by one of Facebook’s first investors, Peter Thiel, has a database of more than 10 billion faces, collected online, feeding into its identity software.
And according to Washington Postthe young California company told its investors it was on track to have more than 100 billion photos in its database next year.
Several lawsuits are being conducted against the company in European countries. The Italian Personal Data Protection Authority fined him 20 million euros (27.5 million Canadian dollars) in March for introducing biometric surveillance of people on the territory of Italy.
In its press release, the Autorité also specified that it has ordered the company to delete data relating to individuals in Italy.
Source: Radio-Canada
