US company Clearview AI, which operates controversial facial recognition software used by law enforcement agencies around the world, is ordered by the Access to Information Commission to destroy all photos within 90 days. that it holds from Quebecers.
The order follows a devastating report released in February 2021 in which the Privacy Commissioner of Canada called the software an illegal “mass surveillance tool”.
Clearview AI’s facial recognition algorithm recognizes faces from a bank of billions of photos the company has gleaned without consent from social media, including Facebook and Twitter. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have admitted to using the software in criminal investigations to identify suspects. After initially denying using it, the police force claimed to have used it on 78 occasions, but the investigation of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada revealed that he had actually used it. on more than 500 occasions, and that it was not able to account for 85% of the uses.
The use of the software is considered illegal in the country, since it violates certain principles of justice, in particular the obligation for investigators to obtain warrants to obtain protected personal information.
The company bombarded with criticism
The Quebec Access to Information Commission, which collaborated in the investigation of its federal counterpart, also ordered Clearview AI to stop compiling files and collecting images without the consent of Quebecers.
Clearview AI, for its part, claims that it has no information allowing to determine the nationality or the place of residence of the people whose faces are stored in its database, since it has copied the images on public sites and social networks. that do not necessarily reveal this information.
The company, strafed with criticism since the New York Times revealed its existence, has imposed itself in the greatest secrecy within the police force by offering free trial accounts to investigators. It does not appear to have any intention of shutting down its activities despite reports from public privacy agencies in many countries. The US Patent Office this week approved a patent application filed by its founder, Hoan Ton-That, to protect technology described as a “face search engine.”