Clearview AI has received another fine, this time from the UK's privacy watchdog.
Clearview AI has been fined £7.55 million ($9.5 million) by the 's privacy watchdog UKfor illegally collecting images of people's faces from social media and the internet. In addition to the fine, the company has been ordered to stop collecting data from UK residents and delete the data it has already collected.
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"The company not only allows these individuals to be identified, but effectively monitors their behaviour and offers the information as a commercial service. This is unacceptable," said the information commissioner, John Edwards.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) launched a joint investigation with Australia into the company in 2020. Last year, it imposed a preliminary fine of £17 million ($21.4 million) against Clearview AI. At the time, the office noted that “Clearview AI Inc’s database is likely to include the data of a significant number of UK individuals that may have been collected without their knowledge from publicly available information online, including social media platforms.”
Now, in issuing a final order, the ICO has found that Clearview AI unlawfully collected more than 20 billion facial images (some of which belonged to UK citizens) for its database . In the UK, Clearview AI’s services have previously been used by law enforcement agencies, including the Metropolitan Police, the Ministry of Defence and the National Crime Agency. “Although Clearview AI no longer offers its services to UK organisations, the company has customers in other countries, so it is still using personal data of UK residents,” the ICO said.
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The company sells an app that can be used in the following way: upload someone's photo and then attempt to identify them against the company's database. The data has been used by thousands of law enforcement agencies, despite some legal issues surrounding the technology .
Major companies including Twitter, Google and YouTube have sent the company so-called cease-and-desist letters, claiming it violates their terms of service. Facebook has asked Clearview to stop collecting user data from the platform.
Clearview AI has received numerous complaints from privacy groups in Europe and two months ago was hit with another €20 million fine by Italian. The country accused the company of collecting data from Italian citizens from social media and websites without their consent. The investigation also revealed that Clearview AI had illegally processed geolocation data, which violates the core principles of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
Learn more: Italy: Clearview AI fined for collecting citizens' data
Additionally, it is the fourth time the company has been ordered to delete national data in this way, following similar orders and fines issued in Australia, France, and Italy.
Clearview AI isn't just facing problems in Europe. In the US, the ACLU sued the company for violating Illinois state laws. The company recently settled that lawsuit, agreeing to limit the use of its database in Illinois, though it will still supply it to federal agencies and other states.
Source: www.engadget.com
