Italian Regulator Fines Clearview AI 20 Million Euros Over Biometric Data Violations
Italy's data protection authority penalizes Clearview AI with a 20 million euro fine and orders the immediate deletion of all facial recognition data collected from Italian citizens.
The Italian data protection authority imposes a 20 million euro fine on Clearview AI for severe privacy violations related to its facial recognition system. The regulator finds that the US-based company unlawfully collects and processes biometric and geolocation data of individuals in Italy without a valid legal basis under the GDPR.
Investigations reveal that Clearview AI infringes core principles of European privacy law, including transparency, purpose limitation, and storage limitation. The company fails to notify individuals about the collection of their images, ignores subject access requests, and incorrectly claims a legitimate interest to justify its massive web scraping operations.
Alongside the substantial financial penalty, the Italian regulator orders Clearview AI to immediately stop collecting data in Italy and delete all existing information from its database. Furthermore, the authority mandates that the company must appoint an official representative within the European Union to ensure future compliance with regional laws.