(nazik94air.max.gmail.com/DepositPhotos.com)California activists say that Clearview AI allows law enforcement agencies to access its massive facial recognition database to track and monitor dissident voices. The company has scraped the internet collecting the images and information of billions of people without their consent or knowledge.
That’s according to a lawsuit filed in a Bay Area court this week asking a judge to force the company to delete its data on Californians.
The groups Mijente, Norcal Resist, and four individual activists filed the lawsuit saying that Clearview AI has amassed a database seven times larger than the FBI’s and more than 2,000 law enforcement agencies have used it.
“Clearview has provided thousands of governments, government agencies, and private entities access to its database, which they can use to identify people with dissident views, monitor their associations, and track their speech,” states the lawsuit, which also point out that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a contract with Clearview AI.
The plaintiffs claim in their lawsuit that Clearview AI facial recognition technology uses images available on internet sites to build a trove of faceprints that law enforcement agencies can use to identify individuals, notes AP News. The data used by Clearview AI even include photos of people caught in the background of images along with individuals and their friends and family members who also didn’t consent to the company using their pictures, the lawsuit reported by the Associated Press claims.
The lawsuit also reportedly contends that Clearview AI offers the use of its database to law enforcement agencies in areas that have banned the use of facial recognition technology.
Clearview AI faces legal action in a number of other states, as well as Canada, over its facial recognition technology. The company is currently fighting a class action in Illinois claiming it violated a state biometric privacy law.
In Canada, law enforcement agencies have been banned from using the service. In addition, government officials want Clearview AI to remove images of Canadians from its database.
Clearview AI reportedly maintains that its facial recognition database does not violate the law.
“Clearview AI complies with all applicable law and its conduct is fully protected by the First Amendment,” the company’s attorney said in a statement, according to AP News.
In addition, Clearview AI has denied claims its facial recognition technology misrepresents people of color more often than whites, leading to more wrongful arrests of people of color.
In a statement, Clearview AI’s CEO, Hoan Ton-That reportedly said that “an independent study has indicated the Clearview AI has no racial bias,” and notes that “[a]s a person of mixed race, having non-biased technology is important to me.”
Are you concerned about the use of the Clearview AI facial recognition database? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
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3 thoughts onClearview AI Built ‘The Most Dangerous’ Facial Recognition Database, Lawsuit Says
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I have been harassed by facial recognition cameras since the year of around 2011 and it’s still currently happening on a regular basis. In fact the situation has gotten so bad that on a daily basis I have issues with the Street surveillance cameras taking photos of me at the light traffic lights. I’ve also noticed the black ball bubble lights taking photos of me. I could be anywhere from in a liquor store to the grocery store to a department store and will notice the cameras taking photos of me. I totally feel harassed by AI technology. It’s so bad that when I go to the casino they have these little robots that are considered security and because of whatever they have in their facial recognition database regarding me these little robots follow me around the casino sometimes.
I have wrote to politicians regarding this and have not gotten any responses.
Please ADD ME. I was forced to do facial recognition & dna by Calif court after getting a dui. It was not a felony and no jailtime. But the DA made me pay for & required that I do facial recognition & dna. I did not understand or agree to why but was forced to do so. I am completely against this and have no criminal record BUT felt this process was illegal & an invasion of my privacy. Please ADD ME.