Facebook and Venmo Send Cease-and-Desist Letters to Clearview AI
Facebook and Venmo are demanding that facial recognition startup Clearview AI stop scraping user photos from their platforms. The controversial company plans to fight back by claiming a First Amendment right to publicly available information.
Facebook and Venmo officially demand that Clearview AI stops scraping user data from their platforms. Both companies recently send cease-and-desist letters to the controversial facial recognition startup, following similar legal actions previously taken by Google and Twitter. A Facebook spokesperson states that scraping people's information directly violates the company's policies.
Before taking formal legal action, Facebook attempts multiple times to get Clearview to comply by sending letters to clarify its policies and requesting detailed information about the startup's practices. Clearview faces intense public scrutiny after a report reveals that the company scrapes billions of images from social media sites without consent to build a massive facial recognition database used by over 600 police departments.
Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That plans to challenge these legal demands by arguing that his company has a First Amendment right to access publicly available information. He defends the practice by comparing Clearview's technology to Google's search engine, which also pulls information from various websites. Meanwhile, some observers note that Facebook's delayed response potentially stems from board member Peter Thiel's early investment in Clearview.