Canadian Privacy Watchdogs Rule Clearview AI Violates National Law
Canadian privacy authorities declare that Clearview AI breaks privacy laws by scraping facial images without consent. The watchdogs reject the company's defense that publicly available data exempts it from the rules.
Canadian privacy authorities rule that controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI violates Canadian privacy law by scraping citizens' photos without their knowledge or consent. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner states that the startup collects highly sensitive biometric information for inappropriate purposes that cannot be justified through consent.
Clearview AI rebuffs the allegations and argues that Canadian privacy laws do not apply to its operations. The company claims that it only gathers publicly available information from the internet, comparing its data collection practices to those of major search engines like Google.
The Canadian privacy watchdog rejects these arguments and demands that Clearview AI stop collecting images of Canadians. Authorities warn that they pursue further actions if the startup fails to follow these recommendations, setting a significant precedent for the regulation of biometric data collection.