Facial recognition company Clearview AI was fined €30.5 million by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) on Tuesday, September 3, for creating an illegal repository of billions of photos.
This company sells, in fact, to law enforcement and security services a facial recognition tool that can identify a person from a photograph, a tool used in particular by police in the United States. However, Clearview AI’s detection capabilities rely on a considerable amount of data sucked up online by the company to feed its algorithms. “Clearview has a database containing more than 30 billion photos of people for this purpose. (…) without these people knowing and without their permission”according to a statement from the Dutch data protection regulator. Photos of Dutch citizens are in this database, the document adds.
In addition to the €30.5 million fine imposed on Clearview AI, the AP also ordered an end to these violations and threatened the company with a penalty payment of up to €5.1 million. “Facial recognition is a very radical technology, which cannot simply be made accessible to everyone”AP President Aleid Wolfsen was quoted as saying in the statement.
To go further: Article reserved for our subscribers Clearview AI, the New York facial recognition startup that vacuumed up your photos
Add to your selections
Sanctioned in France
Clearview says it only provides tools to intelligence and investigative services outside the European Union. “It’s bad enough alreadyreplied Aleid Wolfsen. We need to draw a very clear line when it comes to the incorrect use of this type of technology.”
Facial recognition can help with security and criminal investigations by law enforcement, he acknowledges. But it should not “definitely not” to be managed “by a commercial company”. “Clearview is violating the law, and therefore using Clearview’s services is illegal.he also warned. Dutch organisations that use Clearview can therefore expect heavy fines.”
In France, the company was fined €20 million in 2022 by the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL), which urged it to immediately delete the personal data of French people in its database. In the absence of compliance and a satisfactory response to the privacy watchdog’s requests, a new penalty of €5.2 million – a liquidation of the penalty payment linked to the first decision – was also decided in 2023.
Read also | Clearview AI to pay €5.2 million for failing to comply with CNIL ruling
Add to your selections
Fines have also been imposed on the American firm in the United Kingdom and Italy. “The company does not seem to be changing its behavior [selon l’AP, qui] “is looking for ways to ensure that Clearview puts[ra] end the violations. Including investigating whether company executives can be held personally liable for the violations.”
