The founder of facial recognition business Clearview claims it has carried out about a million searches for US police. Technology News UK reports that CEO Hoan Ton-That also disclosed that Clearview now possesses 30 billion photos illegally collected from websites like Facebook. Millions of dollars have been fined towards the corporation repeatedly in Europe and Australia for privacy violations. Critics claim that the police’s deployment of cameras pushes everyone into a “perpetual police line-up.”
“They will match a suspect’s photo to your face,” says Matthew Guaragilia of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Police still need to verify Clearview’s claim that one million searches have occurred. But, Miami Police has admitted to using this software for all types of crimes in an unusual revelation to the BBC. By uploading a photo of a face, a law enforcement user of Clearview’s technology can scan a database of billions of pictures for matches. The matching photos’ online locations are then linked. It is regarded as one of the world’s most potent and reliable facial recognition businesses.
Following a court battle in Illinois in which the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) accused Clearview AI of violating privacy rules, the company can no longer provide its services to most US enterprises. But, there is an exception for law enforcement, and Mr Ton-That claims that hundreds of police departments around the country use his application. Authorities in the United States rarely confess to employing the programme, and it is illegal in several cities, including Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle.
