Canadian Watchdogs Declare Clearview AI Facial Recognition Illegal
Canadian privacy authorities rule that Clearview AI violates the law by scraping citizens' facial data without consent. The watchdogs demand the immediate deletion of all collected Canadian images.
Canadian privacy authorities rule that Clearview AI violates Canadian law by scraping facial photos of citizens without their knowledge or consent. The investigation finds that the New York-based startup collects highly sensitive biometric information for inappropriate purposes that cannot be justified after the fact.
Clearview AI actively pushes back against the ruling by arguing that Canadian privacy laws do not apply to the company and that collecting publicly available images does not require permission. The Canadian watchdogs reject these arguments and order the startup to stop collecting images of Canadians and delete all previously gathered data.
Canada's privacy commissioner condemns the technology as illegal mass surveillance that inflicts broad-based harm on society by putting everyone in a perpetual police lineup. Although Clearview claims it no longer offers its services in Canada, authorities warn they will pursue further actions if the company ignores their deletion demands.