Advertisement

UK and Australia launch probe into ClearviewAI

Facial recognition - Thomas Peter/Reuters
Facial recognition - Thomas Peter/Reuters

British and Australian regulators have launched a joint investigation into facial recognition company Clearview AI amid concerns over how it collects images of individuals from social media sites.

The probe, launched by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, is expected to centre around how the business uses "scraped" data and biometrics.

Its facial recognition tool works by allowing individuals to upload photos and match the person in those photos to other images of them on the internet, linking to where they appeared.

The system is said to rely on a database of more than three billion images which have been "scraped" or taken from websites including social media sites.

A report in The New York Times earlier this year claimed Clearview's app included programming which could pair it with augmented reality glasses, and allow users to identify every person they saw.

The tool is used extensively by authorities across the world, and an estimated 600 law enforcement agencies in the US work with Clearview to identify criminal suspects and victims.

How facial recognition technology works
How facial recognition technology works

Reports alleged that here in the UK, both the Metropolitan Police and the National Crime Agency partnered with Clearview, although the Met Police denied the claims and the NCA said it did not comment on which tools it used.

Clearview recently said it had no current operations in the EU.

However, regulators have become increasingly concerned about the privacy implications of how personal information and biometrics of individuals is collected and used by the app.

Earlier this year, Canadian authorities launched a probe into the company, which resulted in Clearview this week saying it would no longer be offering services in the country.

In the EU, meanwhile, regulators last month raised questions over whether services such as Clearview's were legal.

The European Data Protection Board said it was "of the opinion that the use of a service such as Clearview AI by law enforcement authorities in the European Union would, as it stands, likely not be consistent with the EU data protection regime".

A spokesman for Clearview said: "Clearview AI searches publicly available photos from the internet in accordance with applicable laws.

"It is used to help identify criminal suspects. Its powerful technology is currently unavailable in UK and Australia. Individuals in these countries can opt-out. We will continue to cooperate with UK’s ICO and Australia’s OAIC."