Clearview AI is under increased scrutiny after privacy advocates at Noyb filed a criminal complaint against the company, accusing it of unlawfully scraping images of social media users” faces without their consent. This practice, they argue, has been used to train the company”s facial recognition algorithms.
Noyb, based in Austria and founded by privacy lawyer Max Schrems, asserts that if their complaint is successful, individuals involved in the data collection process could face serious consequences, including potential imprisonment. The complaint highlights Clearview”s apparent failure to comply with fines imposed by multiple countries, including France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK. Notably, Clearview recently lost an appeal against a $10 million fine from the UK”s Information Commissioner”s Office. According to Noyb, the total fines against Clearview could exceed $100 million.
“EU data protection authorities have not found an effective way to enforce their fines and bans against this US company, enabling Clearview AI to circumvent the law,” Noyb stated in its announcement.
Max Schrems criticized Clearview”s actions, saying, “Clearview AI appears to blatantly disregard EU fundamental rights and shows contempt for EU authorities.” The criminal complaint was submitted to Austrian public prosecutors and is based on Article 84 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This article permits EU member states to pursue appropriate punishments for data protection infringements, including criminal charges.
Clearview AI claims to have amassed over 60 billion images to aid law enforcement agencies in enhancing facial recognition technology. While collecting data is not inherently illegal, the company”s extensive acquisition of social media photos for commercial purposes has consistently breached GDPR regulations throughout Europe. In 2023, Austria deemed Clearview”s methods illegal, but did not impose a fine.
Noyb is leveraging a provision in Austria”s GDPR implementation that permits criminal proceedings against managers of organizations that violate data protection laws. Schrems remarked, “We even pursue cross-border criminal cases for stolen bicycles, so we trust that the public prosecutor will take action when personal data of billions has been stolen, as confirmed by various authorities.”
The Register reached out to Clearview AI for comments regarding the allegations, but no response has been received at this time.
