The ICO is the UK’s data privacy regulator and has been looking into Clearview AI’s activities along with its Australian counterpart, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Earlier this month, the OAIC determined that the company fell foul of Australia’s data privacy laws. The ICO’s announcement is also based on the findings of the joint investigation. However, it is important to note that both the fine and the notice to halt data processing are provisional. Clearview AI will have the opportunity to make representations to defend itself, after which the ICO will make its final decision. The ICO is expected to come out with its final decision in mid-2022. As a consequence, the proposed fine and notice “may be subject to change or no further formal action.”
Clearview AI’s Alleged Breaches of UK Data Privacy Laws
The ICO’s findings are based on a joint investigation conducted with Australia’s OAIC. Below are some of the ICO’s reasons behind its preliminary view:
Clearview AI failed to process UK persons’ information in “a way they are likely to expect or that is fair.’ It failed to establish a process to prevent indefinitely retaining data. The company does not have a ‘lawful reason’ to collect the data. It did not meet the higher data protection standards that are required for biometric data, both under the GDPR and UK GDPR. Clearview AI did not inform people in the UK what was happening to their personal information.
About Clearview AI
Clearview AI operates facial recognition tools that scrape images from social media and other publicly available internet locations. The company describes itself as the ‘world’s largest facial network,’ and also has a database of said scraped images. According to the ICO, customers provide images to Clearview AI to carry out biometric searches — including facial recognition searches — against its database containing more than 10 billion images. In the past, Clearview AI’s customers have included law enforcement from countries such as Australia and the UK. However, the ICO pointed out that UK law enforcement used Clearview AI’s service on a free trial, which was later discontinued. Lawmakers around Europe have taken a stern view against the use of facial recognition tools by law enforcement.
