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An Anonymous Coward writes:

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

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The CEO of Clearview AI, a controversial and secretive facial recognition startup, is defending his company's massive database of searchable faces, saying in an interview on CBS This Morning Wednesday that it's his First Amendment right to collect public photos. He also has compared the practices to what Google does with its search engine.

Facial recognition technology, which proponents argue helps with security and makes your devices more convenient, has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups. Microsoft, IBM and Amazon, which sells its Rekognition system to law enforcement agencies in the US, have said facial recognition should be regulated by the government, and a few cities, including San Francisco, have banned its use, but there aren't yet any federal laws addressing the issue.

Here is YouTube's full statement:

"YouTube's Terms of Service explicitly forbid collecting data that can be used to identify a person. Clearview has publicly admitted to doing exactly that, and in response we sent them a cease and desist letter. And comparisons to Google Search are inaccurate. Most websites want to be included in Google Search, and we give webmasters control over what information from their site is included in our search results, including the option to opt-out entirely. Clearview secretly collected image data of individuals without their consent, and in violation of rules explicitly forbidding them from doing so."

Facebook has also said that it's reviewing Clearview AI's practices and that it would take action if it learns the company is violating its terms of services.

"We have serious concerns with Clearview's practices, which is why we've requested information as part of our ongoing review. How they respond will determine the next steps we take," a Facebook spokesperson told CBS News on Tuesday. Facebook later said it demanded the company stop scraping photos because the activity violates its policies.

Clearview AI attracted wide attention in January after The New York Times reported how the company's app can identify people by comparing their photo to a database of more than 3 billion pictures that Clearview says it's scraped off social media and other sites. The app is used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies in the US to identify those suspected of criminal activities.

Previously:
Clearview App Lets Strangers Find Your Name, Info with Snap of a Photo, Report Says

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

Clearview AI, which contracts with law enforcement after reportedly scraping 3 billion images from the web, now says someone got "unauthorized access" to its list of customers:

[...] the startup Clearview AI disclosed to its customers that an intruder "gained unauthorized access" to its list of customers, to the number of user accounts those customers had set up, and to the number of searches its customers have conducted. The notification said the company's servers were not breached and that there was "no compromise of Clearview's systems or network." The company also said it fixed the vulnerability and that the intruder did not obtain any law-enforcement agencies' search histories.

[...] The firm drew national attention when The New York Times ran a front-page story about its work with law-enforcement agencies. The Times reported that the company scraped 3 billion images from the internet, including from Facebook, YouTube, and Venmo. That process violated Facebook's terms of service, according to the paper. It also created a resource that drew the attention of hundreds of law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, according to that report. In a follow-up story, the Times reported that law-enforcement officials have used the tools to identify children who are victims of sexual abuse. One anonymous Canadian law-enforcement official told the paper that Clearview was "the biggest breakthrough in the last decade" for investigations of those crimes.

The notification did not describe the breach as a hack. David Forscey, the managing director of the no-profit Aspen Cybersecurity Group, said the breach is concerning.

Previously on SN:

Canadian Privacy Commissioners to Investigate "Creepy" Facial Recognition Firm Clearview AI
Clearview AI Hit with Cease-And-Desist from Google, Facebook Over Facial Recognition Collection
Clearview App Lets Strangers Find Your Name, Info with Snap of a Photo, Report Says

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Bytram:

Clearview AI's Facial Recognition Tech Is Being Used By The Justice Department, ICE, And The FBI:

When BuzzFeed News reported earlier this month that Clearview AI had used marketing materials that suggested it was pursuing a "rapid international expansion," the company was dismissive, noting that it was focused on the US and Canada.

The company's client list suggests otherwise. It shows that Clearview AI has expanded to at least 26 countries outside the US, engaging national law enforcement agencies, government bodies, and police forces in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The log also has an entry for Interpol, which ran more than 320 searches. Reached for comment, the worldwide policing agency confirmed that "a small number of officers" in its Crimes Against Children unit had used Clearview's facial recognition app with a 30-day free trial account. That trial has now ended and "there is no formal relationship between Interpol and Clearview," the Interpol General Secretariat said in a statement.

It's unclear how Clearview is vetting potential international clients, particularly in countries with records of human rights violations or authoritarian regimes. In an interview with PBS, Ton-That said Clearview would never sell to countries "adverse to the US," including China, Iran, and North Korea. Asked by PBS if he would sell to countries where being gay is a crime, he didn't answer, stating once again that the company's focus is on the US and Canada.

Clearview, however, has already provided its software to organizations in countries that have laws against LGBTQ individuals, according to its documents. In Saudi Arabia, for example, the documents indicate that Clearview gave access to the Thakaa Center, also known as the AI Center of Advanced Studies, a Riyadh-based research center whose clients include Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investment. Thakaa, which did not respond to a request for comment, was given access to the software earlier this month, according to the documents.

Previously:
Clearview AI Reports Entire Client List Was Stolen
Canadian Privacy Commissioners to Investigate "Creepy" Facial Recognition Firm Clearview AI
Clearview AI Hit with Cease-And-Desist from Google, Facebook Over Facial Recognition Collection
Clearview App Lets Strangers Find Your Name, Info with Snap of a Photo, Report Says

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Fnord666:

Clearview AI to stop selling controversial facial recognition app to private companies:

Controversial facial recognition provider Clearview AI says it will no longer sell its app to private companies and non-law enforcement entities, according to a legal filing first reported on Thursday by BuzzFeed News. It will also be terminating all contracts, regardless of whether the contracts are for law enforcement purposes or not, in the state of Illinois.

The document, filed in Illinois court as part of lawsuit over the company's potential violations of a state privacy law, lays out Clearview's decision as a voluntary action, and the company will now "avoid transacting with non-governmental customers anywhere." Earlier this year, BuzzFeed reported on a leaked client list that indicates Clearview's technology has been used by thousands of organizations, including companies like Bank of America, Macy's, and Walmart.

"Clearview is cancelling the accounts of every customer who was not either associated with law enforcement or some other federal, state, or local government department, office, or agency," Clearview's filing reads. "Clearview is also cancelling all accounts belonging to any entity based in Illinois." Clearview argues that it should not face an injunction, which would prohibit it from using current or past Illinois residents' biometric data, because it's taking these steps to comply with the state's privacy law.

Previously:
(2020-04-20) Security Lapse Exposed Clearview AI Source Code
(2020-04-18) Some Shirts Hide You from Cameras
(2020-03-13) Vermont Sues Clearview, Alleging "Oppressive, Unscrupulous" Practices
(2020-02-28) Clearview AI's Facial Recognition Tech is Being Used by US Justice Department, ICE, and the FBI
(2020-02-26) Clearview AI Reports Entire Client List Was Stolen
(2020-02-24) Canadian Privacy Commissioners to Investigate "Creepy" Facial Recognition Firm Clearview AI
(2020-02-06) Clearview AI Hit with Cease-And-Desist from Google, Facebook Over Facial Recognition Collection
(2020-01-22) Clearview App Lets Strangers Find Your Name, Info with Snap of a Photo, Report Says

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Senator fears Clearview AI facial recognition could be used on protesters:

Sen. Edward Markey has raised concerns that police and law enforcement agencies have access to controversial facial recognition app Clearview AI in cities where people are protesting the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died two weeks ago while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

[...] "As demonstrators across the country exercise their First Amendment rights by protesting racial injustice, it is important that law enforcement does not use technological tools to stifle free speech or endanger the public," Markey said in a letter to Clearview AI CEO and co-founder Hoan Ton-That.

The threat of surveillance could also deter people from "speaking out against injustice for fear of being permanently included in law enforcement databases," he said.

Markey, who has previously hammered Clearview AI over its sales to foreign governments, use by domestic law enforcement and use in the COVID-19 pandemic, is now asking the company for a list of law enforcement agencies that have signed new contracts since May 25, 2020.

It's also being asked if search traffic on its database has increased during the past two weeks; whether it considers a law enforcement agency's "history of unlawful or discriminatory policing practices" before selling the technology to them; what process it takes to give away free trials; and whether it will prohibit its technology from being used to identify peaceful protestors.

[...] Ton-That said he will respond to the letter from Markey. "Clearview AI's technology is intended only for after-the-crime investigations, and not as a surveillance tool relating to protests or under any other circumstances," he said in an emailed statement.

Previously:

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

AWS Facial Recognition Platform Misidentified Over 100 Politicians As Criminals:

Comparitech's Paul Bischoff found that Amazon's facial recognition platform misidentified an alarming number of people, and was racially biased.

Facial recognition technology is still misidentifying people at an alarming rate – even as it's being used by police departments to make arrests. In fact, Paul Bischoff, consumer privacy expert with Comparitech, found that Amazon's face recognition platform incorrectly misidentified more than 100 photos of US and UK lawmakers as criminals.

Rekognition, Amazon's cloud-based facial recognition platform that was first launched in 2016, has been sold and used by a number of United States government agencies, including ICE and Orlando, Florida police, as well as private entities. In comparing photos of a total of 1,959 US and UK lawmakers to subjects in an arrest database, Bischoff found that Rekognition misidentified at average of 32 members of Congress. That's four more than a similar experiment conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – two years ago. Bischoff also found that the platform was racially biased, misidentifying non-white people at a higher rate than white people.

These findings have disturbing real-life implications. Last week, the ACLU shed light on Detroit citizen Robert Julian-Borchak Williams, who was arrested after a facial recognition system falsely matched his photo with security footage of a shoplifter.