Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Thursday January 23 2020, @04:19AM   Printer-friendly
from the Privacy dept.

Clearview app lets strangers find your name, info with snap of a photo, report says:

What if a stranger could snap your picture on the sidewalk then use an app to quickly discover your name, address and other details? A startup called Clearview AI has made that possible, and its app is currently being used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies in the US, including the FBI, says a Saturday report in The New York Times.

The app, says the Times, works by comparing a photo to a database of more than 3 billion pictures that Clearview says it's scraped off Facebook, Venmo, YouTube and other sites. It then serves up matches, along with links to the sites where those database photos originally appeared. A name might easily be unearthed, and from there other info could be dug up online.

The size of the Clearview database dwarfs others in use by law enforcement. The FBI's own database, which taps passport and driver's license photos, is one of the largest, with over 641 million images of US citizens.

[...] The startup said in a statement Tuesday that its "technology is intended only for use by law enforcement and security personnel. It is not intended for use by the general public."

Law enforcement officers say they've used the app to solve crimes from shoplifting to child sexual exploitation to murder. But privacy advocates warn that the app could return false matches to police and that it could also be used by stalkers and others. They've also warned that facial recognition technologies in general could be used to conduct mass surveillance.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2, Offtopic) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday January 23 2020, @03:54PM

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday January 23 2020, @03:54PM (#947464) Journal

    Yes. Yes I did notice. These statistics don't tell the whole story if they treat "she smacked me" the exact same as "he shot mommy and broke my arm!"

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   0  
       Offtopic=1, Informative=1, Total=2
    Extra 'Offtopic' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2