The company often boasts of its potential for identifying rioters involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, saving children from being abused or exploited, and assisting in the exoneration of those who have been falsely accused of crimes. Yet, critics cite two examples in Detroit and New Orleans where incorrect face recognition identifications led to unjustified arrests.
Last month, the company CEO, Hoan Ton-That admitted in an interview with the BBC that Clearview utilized photos without users’ knowledge. This made it possible for the organization's enormous database, which is promoted to law enforcement on its website as a tool "to bring justice to victims."
What Happens When Unauthorized Data is Scraped
Privacy advocates and digital platforms have long criticized the technology for its intrusive aspects, with major social media giants like Facebook sending cease-and-desist letters to Clearview in 2020, accusing the company of violating their users’ privacy.
"Clearview AI's actions invade people's privacy which is why we banned their founder from our services and sent them a legal demand to stop accessing any data, photos, or videos from our services," says a Meta spokesperson in an email Insider, following the revelation.
The spokesperson continues by informing Insider that Meta, since then, has made “significant investments in technology and devotes substantial team resources to combating unauthorized scraping on Facebook products.”
When unauthorized scraping is discovered, the company may take action “such as sending cease and desist letters, disabling accounts, filing lawsuits, or requesting assistance from hosting providers to protect user data,” the spokesperson said.
In spite of internal policies, biometric face prints are made and cross-referenced in the database once a photo has been scraped by Clearview AI, permanently linking the individuals to their social media profiles and other identifying information. Individuals in the photos have little recourse to try to remove themselves from the photos.
Searching Clearview’s database is one of the many methods where police agencies can make use of social media content to aid in investigations, like making requests directly to the platform for user data. Although the use of Clearview AI or other facial recognition technologies by law enforcement is not monitored in most states and is not subject to federal regulation, some critics argue that it should even be banned.