Clearview AI

Clearview AI was founded in 2017 by Hoan Ton-That and Richard Schwartz after transferring the assets of another company, SmartCheckr, which the pair originally founded in 2017 alongside Charles C. Johnson.{{cite court |litigants=Johnson v Clearview |opinion= 23 Civ 2441 |court= UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK|date= May 20 2024|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2023cv02441/596057/40/}} The company was founded in Manhattan after the founders met at the Manhattan Institute. The company initially raised $8.4 million from investors including Kirenaga Partners and Peter Thiel.{{cite news |last1=Mac |first1=Ryan |last2=Sacks |first2=Brianna |date=September 24, 2020 |title=Controversial Facial Recognition Firm Clearview AI Raised $8.6 Million |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/controversial-clearview-ai-raises-8-million |language=en |work=BuzzFeed News |access-date=September 24, 2020 }} Additional fundraising, in 2020, collected $8.625 million in exchange for equity. The company did not disclose investors in the second round. In 2021, another fundraising round received $30 million.{{cite web |last1=Dastin |first1=Jeffery |last2=Dave |first2=Paresh |title=EXCLUSIVE Facial recognition startup Clearview AI drops sales chief, chunk of staff -sources |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-facial-recognition-startup-clearview-ai-drops-sales-chief-chunk-staff-2022-06-17/ |website=Reuters |publisher=Reuters |access-date=14 June 2024}} Early use of Clearview's app was given to potential investors in their Series A fundraising round. Billionaire John Catsimatidis used it to identify someone his daughter dated and piloted it at one of his Gristedes grocery markets in New York City to identify shoplifters.{{Cite web |title=NYT: Billionaire with ties to St. Petersburg tested facial recognition app |work=Tampa Bay Times |access-date=March 8, 2020 |url= https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2020/03/06/nyt-billionaire-with-ties-to-st-petersburg-tested-facial-recognition-app/}}{{Cite news |title=Before Clearview Became a Police Tool, It Was a Secret Plaything of the Rich |work=The New York Times |date=March 5, 2020 |access-date=March 8, 2020 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/technology/clearview-investors.html|last1=Hill |first1=Kashmir }}

In October 2020, a company spokesperson claimed that Clearview AI's valuation was more than $100 million.{{Cite news |last=Somerville |first=Heather |date=October 20, 2020 |title=Facial-Recognition Startup Clearview Moves to Limit Risk of Police Abuse |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/facial-recognition-startup-clearview-moves-to-prevent-possible-police-abuse-11603217327 |access-date=November 3, 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} The company announced its first chief strategy officer, chief revenue officer, and chief marketing officer in May 2021. Devesh Ashra, a former deputy assistant secretary with the United States Department of the Treasury, became its chief strategy officer. Chris Metaxas, a former executive at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, became its chief revenue officer. Susan Crandall, a former marketing executive at LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Motorola Solutions, became its chief marketing officer.{{Cite web |date=May 18, 2021 |title=Three New Faces Join Clearview AI |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/finance/news/three-faces-join-clearview-ai-113400118.html |publisher=Yahoo! Finance}} Devesh Ashra and Chris Metaxas left the company in 2021.

In August 2021, Clearview AI announced the formation of an advisory board including Raymond Kelly, Richard A. Clarke, Rudy Washington, Floyd Abrams, Lee S. Wolosky, and Owen West.{{cite press release |author= |title=Clearview AI Announces Formation of Advisory Board |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210818005288/en/ |location=New York |publisher=Business Wire |agency=The LAKPR Group Inc. |date=2021-08-18 |access-date=2021-08-26}} The company claimed to have scraped more than 10 billion images as of October 2021.{{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Kashmir |date=October 28, 2021 |title=Clearview AI finally takes part in a federal accuracy test |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/technology/clearview-ai-test.html |access-date=December 1, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} In May 2022, Clearview AI announced that it would be expanding sales of its facial recognition software to schools and lending platforms outside the U.S.{{cite web |author=Paresh Dave |date=May 24, 2022 |title=Clearview AI's facial recognition tool coming to apps, schools |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/clearview-ais-facial-recognition-tool-coming-apps-schools-2022-05-24/ |access-date=June 19, 2022 |website=Reuters}}

Clearview AI hired a notable legal team to defend the company against several lawsuits that threatened their business model. Their legal staff includes Tor Ekeland, Lee S. Wolosky, Paul Clement, Floyd Abrams, and Jack Mulcaire.{{cite web |last1=Vallance |first1=Chris |title=Face search company Clearview AI overturns UK privacy fine |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67133157 |website=BBC |publisher=BBC |access-date=15 June 2024 |date=18 October 2023}} Abrams stated the issue of privacy rights versus free speech in the First Amendment could reach the Supreme Court.

On February 19, 2025, following the resignation of Ton-That in December 2024, Clearview AI appointed Hal Lambert and Richard Swartz as CEOs. Lambert and Swartz were early investors in the company. Lambert previously did fundraising for the Trump presidential campaigns. In a separate statement Ton-That said he would remain a board member.{{Cite web |last=Jeans |first=David |title=Clearview AI’s CEO Resigns As Facial Recognition Company Focuses On Trump 'Opportunities' |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidjeans/2025/02/19/clearview-ai-ceo-resigns/ |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250220141741/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidjeans/2025/02/19/clearview-ai-ceo-resigns/ |archive-date=February 20, 2025}}

Clearview AI provides facial recognition software where users can upload an image of a face and match it against their database.{{Cite web |last=Richman |first=Josh |date=2024-03-26 |title=Podcast Episode: About Face (Recognition) |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/03/podcast-episode-about-face-recognition |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation |language=en}} The software then supplies links to where the "match" can be found online.{{cite news |last1=Clayton |first1=James |last2=Derico |first2=Ben |title=Clearview AI used nearly 1m times by US police, it tells the BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65057011 |access-date=6 October 2023 |work=BBC News |date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923031337/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65057011 |archive-date=September 23, 2023 |url-status=live}} The company operated in near secrecy until the release of an investigative report in The New York Times titled "The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It" in January 2020. It maintained this secrecy by publishing fake information about the company's location and employees and erasing social media for the founders.{{cite episode |title=The facial recognition software cops are raving about |url=https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace/the-facial-recognition-software-cops-are-raving-about/ |access-date=September 19, 2023|series=Marketplace |first= Kai |last= Ryssdal |network= APM |station= Marketplace.org |date=September 19, 2023 |time= 07:00 |quote= I see you have a lot of photos on the internet you should be in the app but you're not here... A couple of minutes later he said he got a call from someone who worked for Clearview AI and they wanted to know why he'd been running my photo. | language= en}} Citing the article, over 40 tech and civil rights organizations sent a letter to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) and four congressional committees, outlining their concerns with facial recognition and Clearview, and asking the PCLOB to suspend use of facial recognition.{{Cite web |title=EPIC PCLOB letter |publisher=Electronic Privacy Information Center |access-date=January 27, 2020 |url= https://epic.org/privacy/facerecognition/PCLOB-Letter-FRT-Suspension.pdf}}{{Cite web |title=U.S. Board Should Seek Facial Recognition Halt, Groups Say (1) |publisher=Bloomberg Law |access-date=January 27, 2020 |url= https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/u-s-board-should-recommend-facial-recognition-halt-groups-say |quote='Obvious problems with bias and discrimination in the systems' show the need for a moratorium, 40 organizations wrote in a letter to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. }}{{Cite news |title=The person behind a privacy nightmare has a familiar face |work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=January 22, 2020|access-date=January 23, 2020 |url= https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/The-person-behind-a-privacy-nightmare-has-a-14993625.php |quote=I wrote about Ton-That in February 2009 ('scathingly,' Hill writes), when he was living in San Francisco, developing first Facebook and then iPhone apps. He made the news for creating ViddyHo, a website that tricked users into sharing access to their Gmail accounts — a hacking technique known as 'phishing' — and then spammed their contacts on the Google Talk chat app. (The episode does not appear on Ton-That's sanitized personal website.) |last1=Thomas |first1=By Owen }}

Clearview served to accelerate a global debate on the regulation of facial recognition technology by governments and law enforcement.{{cite report |author= Ryan Mellino |date= 28 November 2023|title= Regulators Should Use Existing Legal Tools to Rein in Clearview AI's Abuses of Our Personal Privacy Rights|url=https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Clearview-AI-Cover-Letter-and-Report.pdf |publisher= Consumer Watchdog |pages=2–3|access-date=7 June 2024}} Law enforcement officers have stated that Clearview's facial recognition is far superior in identifying perpetrators from any angle than previously used technology.{{Cite web |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a30613488/clearview-ai-app/ |title=This App Is a Dangerous Invasion of Your Privacy—and the FBI Uses It |last=Linder |first=Courtney |date=January 22, 2020 |website=Popular Mechanics |language=en-US |access-date=February 11, 2020}} After discovering Clearview AI was scraping images from their site, Twitter sent a cease-and-desist letter to Clearview, insisting that they remove all images as scraping is against Twitter's policies.{{Cite news |title=Twitter Tells Facial Recognition Trailblazer to Stop Using Site's Photos |work=The New York Times |date=January 23, 2020 |access-date=January 26, 2020 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/technology/clearview-ai-twitter-letter.html |quote=Twitter sent a letter this week to the small start-up company, Clearview AI, demanding that it stop taking photos and any other data from the social media website "for any reason" and delete any data that it previously collected, a Twitter spokeswoman said. The cease-and-desist letter...accused Clearview of violating Twitter's policies. |last1=Hill |first1=Kashmir }} On February 5 and 6, 2020, Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Venmo sent cease and desist letters as it is against their policies.{{Cite web |title=Google tells facial recognition startup Clearview AI to stop scraping photos |author=Igor Bonifacic |work=Engadget |date=February 5, 2020 |access-date=February 6, 2020 |url= https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/05/google-tells-clearview-at-stop-scraping-photos/ |quote=Following Twitter, Google and YouTube have become the latest companies to send a cease-and-desist letter to Clearview AI, the startup behind a controversial facial recognition program that more than 600 police departments across North American use.}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/clearview-ai-hit-with-cease-and-desist-from-google-over-facial-recognition-collection/ |title=Clearview AI hit with cease-and-desist from Google, Facebook over facial recognition collection |last=Ng |first=Alfred |website=CNET |access-date=February 11, 2020}} Ton-That responded in an interview that there is a First Amendment right to access public data. He later stated that Clearview has scraped over 50 billion images from across the web.{{Cite web |title=Google, YouTube and Venmo send cease-and-desist letters to facial recognition app that helps law enforcement |author=Errol Barnett |date=February 5, 2020 |publisher=CBS News |access-date=February 6, 2020 |url= https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clearview-ai-google-youtube-send-cease-and-desist-letter-to-facial-recognition-app/|author-link=Errol Barnett }}{{cite web |last1=Smalley |first1=Suzanne |title=Law enforcement searches of Clearview AI facial recognition doubled in past year |url=https://therecord.media/clearview-ai-police-searches-doubled-2023 |website=therecord.media |publisher=Recorded Future News |access-date=19 July 2024}}

The New Zealand Police used it in a trial after being approached by Clearview's Marko Jukic in January 2020. Jukic said it would have helped identify the Christchurch mosque shooter had the technology been available. The usage of Clearview's software in this case raised strong objections once exposed, as neither the users' supervisors or the Privacy Commissioner were aware or approved of its use. After it was revealed by RNZ, Justice Minister Andrew Little stated, "It clearly wasn't endorsed, from the senior police hierarchy, and it clearly didn't get the endorsement from the [Police] Minister... that is a matter of concern."{{Cite web |title=Police trial of facial recognition technology 'a matter of concern' – Andrew Little |work=RNZ |date=May 13, 2020 |access-date=May 13, 2020 |url= https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/416580/police-trial-of-facial-recognition-technology-a-matter-of-concern-andrew-little}}{{Cite web |title=Police searched for suspects in unapproved trial of facial recognition tech, Clearview AI |work=RNZ |date=May 15, 2020 |access-date=May 15, 2020 |url= https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/416697/police-searched-for-suspects-in-unapproved-trial-of-facial-recognition-tech-clearview-ai |quote=Official emails released to RNZ show how police first used the technology: by submitting images of wanted people who police say looked "to be of Māori or Polynesian ethnicity", as well as "Irish roof contractors". }}

Clearview's technology was used for identifying an individual at a May 30, 2020 George Floyd police violence protest in Miami, Florida. Miami's WTVJ confirmed this, as the arrest report only said she was "identified through investigative means". The defendant's attorney did not even know it was with Clearview. Ton-That confirmed its use, noting that it was not being used for surveillance, but only to investigate a crime.{{Cite web |title=Miami Police Used Facial Recognition Technology in Protester's Arrest |author=Connie Fossi |author2=Phil Prazan |work=NBC 6 South Florida |date=August 17, 2020 |access-date=August 18, 2020 |url= https://www.nbcmiami.com/investigations/miami-police-used-facial-recognition-technology-in-protesters-arrest/2278848/ |quote=The NBC 6 Investigators found police used the facial recognition program Clearview AI to find her. }}

In December 2020, the ACLU of Washington sent a letter to Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan, asking her to ban the Seattle Police Department from using Clearview AI.{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Nathalie |title=ACLU Asks Durkan to Ban Use of Facial Recognition Software at SPD |url=https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/12/02/52765786/aclu-asks-durkan-to-ban-use-of-facial-recognition-software-at-spd |website=The Stranger |access-date=14 April 2021 |language=en}} The letter cited public records retrieved by a local blogger, which showed one officer signing up for and repeatedly logging into the service, as well as corresponding with a company representative. While the ACLU letter raised concerns that the officer's usage violated the Seattle Surveillance Ordinance, an auditor at the City of Seattle Office of the Inspector General argued that the ordinance was designed to address the usage of surveillance technologies by the Department itself, not by an officer without the Department's knowledge.{{cite web |last1=Kiefer |first1=Paul |title=ACLU Calls on Durkan to Ban Facial Recognition Software After Possible SPD Violation |url=https://publicola.com/2020/12/02/spd-officers-use-of-unapproved-software-prompts-aclu-to-call-for-durkan-to-ban-facial-recognition-software/ |website=PubliCola |access-date=14 April 2021 |date=3 December 2020}}

After the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol, the Oxford Police Department in Alabama used Clearview's software to run a number of images posted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its public request for suspect information to generate leads for people present during the riot. Photo matches and information were sent to the FBI who declined to comment on its techniques.{{cite news | author = Hill, Kashmir | work = The New York Times | title = The facial-recognition app Clearview sees a spike in use after Capitol attack | date = 2021-01-09 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/technology/facial-recognition-clearview-capitol.html}}

In March 2022, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence began using Clearview AI's facial recognition technology "to uncover Russian assailants, combat misinformation and identify the dead". Ton-That also claimed that Ukraine's MoD has "more than 2 billion images from the Russian social media service VKontakte at its disposal".{{Cite news |last1=Dave |first1=Paresh |last2=Dastin |first2=Jeffrey |date=2022-03-13 |title=Exclusive: Ukraine has started using Clearview AI's facial recognition during war |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-ukraine-has-started-using-clearview-ais-facial-recognition-during-war-2022-03-13/ |access-date=2022-03-14}} Ukrainian government agencies used Clearview over 5,000 times as of April 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/technology/facial-recognition-ukraine-clearview.html |title=Facial Recognition Goes to War |website=NY Times |date=April 7, 2022|author=Kashmir Hill|access-date=April 14, 2022}}{{cite journal |last1=Al-Nabulsi |first1=Jamal |last2=Turab |first2=Nidal |last3=Owida |first3=Hamza Abu |last4=Al-Naami |first4=Bassam |last5=De Fazio |first5=Roberto |last6=Visconti |first6=Paolo |title=IoT Solutions and AI-Based Frameworks for Masked-Face and Face Recognition to Fight the COVID-19 Pandemic |journal=Sensors |date=15 August 2023 |volume=23 |issue=16 |pages=7193 |doi=10.3390/s23167193|doi-access=free |bibcode=2023Senso..23.7193A |pmc=10458933 }} The company provided these accounts and searches for free.

In a Florida case, Clearview's technology was used by defense attorneys to successfully locate a witness, resulting in the dismissal of vehicular homicide charges against the defendant.{{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Kashmir |date=2022-09-18 |title=Clearview AI, Used by Police to Find Criminals, Now in Public Defenders' Hands |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/18/technology/facial-recognition-clearview-ai.html |access-date=2022-09-19 |issn=0362-4331}}

Law enforcement use of the facial recognition software grew rapidly in the United States. In 2022 more than one million searches were conducted. In 2023, this usage doubled.

Clearview AI encouraged user adoption by offering free trials to law enforcement officers rather than departments as a whole. The company additionally used its significant connections to the Republican Party to connect with police departments.{{cite web |last1=CHAMBERS |first1=JESSE |title=Garrison named one of ‘Washington’s Most Powerful Women’: Mountain Brook resident attracts attention for role with tech firm Clearview AI |url=https://thehomewoodstar.com/peopleplaces/garrison-named-one-of-washingtons-most-powerful-women%E2%80%99-mou/ |website=thehomewoodstar.com |publisher=The Homewood Start |access-date=14 June 2024 |ref=garrisonEmployer |language=en-us |date=31 December 2021}} In onboarding emails, new users were encouraged to go beyond running one or two searches to "[s]ee if you can reach 100 searches". During 2020, Clearview sold their facial recognition software for one tenth the cost of competitors.

Clearview's marketing claimed their facial recognition led to a terrorist arrest. The identification was submitted to the New York Police Department tip line.{{cite web |last1=Statt |first1=Nick |title=Controversial facial recognition firm Clearview AI facing legal claims after damning NYT report |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/24/21079354/clearview-ai-nypd-terrorism-suspect-false-claims-facial-recognition |website=The Verge |access-date=8 June 2024 |language=en |date=24 January 2020}} Clearview claims to have solved two other New York cases and 40 cold cases, later stating they submitted them to tip lines. NYPD stated they have no institutional relationship with Clearview, but their policies do not ban its use by individual officers. In 2020, thirty NYPD officers were confirmed to have Clearview accounts. In April 2021, documents obtained by the Legal Aid Society under New York's Freedom Of Information Law demonstrated that Clearview had collaborated with the NYPD for years, contrary to past NYPD denials.{{Cite web|title=The NYPD Has Misled The Public About Its Use Of Facial Recognition Tool Clearview AI |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/nypd-has-misled-public-about-clearview-ai-use |access-date=2021-04-13 |website=BuzzFeed News|date=April 6, 2021 |language=en}} Clearview met with senior NYPD leadership and entered into a vendor contract with the NYPD.{{Cite web|title=The NYPD used Clearview's controversial facial recognition tool. Here's what you need to know|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/04/09/1022240/clearview-ai-nypd-emails/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=MIT Technology Review|language=en}} Clearview came under renewed scrutiny for enabling officers to conduct large numbers of searches without formal oversight or approval.

The company was sent a cease and desist letter from the office of New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal after including a promotional video on its website with images of Grewal.{{Cite news|title=New Jersey Bars Police From Using Clearview Facial Recognition App|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/technology/clearview-ai-new-jersey.html|work=The New York Times |date=January 25, 2020|access-date=January 26, 2020|quote='We've received the attorney general's letter and are complying,' said Tor Ekeland, Clearview's lawyer. 'The video has been removed.'|last1=Hill|first1=Kashmir}} Clearview had claimed that its app played a role in a New Jersey police sting. Grewal confirmed the software was used to identify a child predator, but he also banned the use of Clearview in New Jersey. Tor Ekeland, a lawyer for Clearview, confirmed the marketing video was taken down the same day.{{Cite web |title=New Jersey cops told to halt all use of controversial facial-recognition technology |work=nj |date=January 24, 2020 |access-date=January 26, 2020 |url= https://www.nj.com/news/2020/01/new-jersey-cops-told-to-halt-all-use-of-controversial-facial-recognition-technology.html |quote=Tor Ekeland, a Clearview lawyer, wrote in an email that they would take the video down, and it was no longer at the top of the company's website Friday evening. }}{{Cite web |title=Cease and Desist |work=The New York Times|access-date=January 26, 2020 |url= https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/6726-new-jersey-ag-clearview-cease-/07b7d49c8810740df2cb/optimized/full.pdf#page=1}}

In March 2020, Clearview pitched their technology to states for use in contact tracing to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |title=To Track Virus, Governments Weigh Surveillance Tools That Push Privacy Limits |last1=Grind |first1=Kirsten |last2=McMillan |first2=Robert |last3=Mathews |first3=Anna Wilde |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 17, 2020 |access-date=March 26, 2020 |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-track-virus-governments-weigh-surveillance-tools-that-push-privacy-limits-11584479841|quote=Clearview A.I. Inc., a facial-recognition startup that has sparked controversy among privacy advocates over its use by police departments, is in discussions with state agencies about using its technology to track patients infected by the coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter. The technology has yet to be adopted by any agency, but the New York-based company hopes it will be helpful in what's known as "contact tracing"—figuring out who else might have been with a person known to have the virus.}}{{Cite journal |title=Health surveillance during covid-19 pandemic {{!}} The BMJ |journal=BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) |date=April 6, 2020 |volume=369 |pages=m1373 |doi=10.1136/bmj.m1373 |access-date=April 7, 2020 |url= https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1373|last1=Calvo |first1=Rafael A. |last2=Deterding |first2=Sebastian |last3=Ryan |first3=Richard M. |pmid=32253180 |s2cid=214806807 |doi-access=free |hdl=10044/1/78107 |hdl-access=free }} A reporter found Clearview's search could identify him while he covered his nose and mouth like a COVID mask would.{{cite web |last1=Gross |first1=Terry |title=Exposing the secretive company at the forefront of facial recognition technology |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/09/28/1202310781/exposing-the-secretive-company-at-the-forefront-of-facial-recognition-technology |website=NPR |access-date=8 June 2024}} The idea brought criticism from US senators and other commentators because it seemed the crisis was being used to push unreliable tools that violate personal privacy.{{Cite web |title=At virtual Booth roundtable, participants warn against hasty embrace of surveillance technology during pandemic |last=Belanger|first=Christian |work=Hyde Park Herald |date=May 12, 2020 |access-date=May 13, 2020 |url= https://www.hpherald.com/news/at-virtual-booth-roundtable-participants-warn-against-hasty-embrace-of-surveillance-technology-during-pandemic/article_aed42524-93cc-11ea-91db-e38be55e99c8.html |quote=Strahilevitz, for his part, alluded to recent news reports that the facial recognition company Clearview AI has offered to help federal and state governments with contract tracing during the pandemic. "When I hear about potential collaborations between the government and Clearview AI to use facial recognition I shudder," he said. }}

Contrary to Clearview's initial claims that its service was sold only to law enforcement, a data breach in early 2020 revealed that numerous commercial organizations were on Clearview's customer list. For example, Clearview marketed to private security firms and to casinos.{{Cite web |title=G2E: New generation of facial recognition enhances security, raises questions – CDC Gaming Reports |work=CDC Gaming Reports |access-date=February 8, 2020 |url= https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/g2e-new-generation-of-facial-recognition-enhances-security-raises-questions/ |quote=Sattar spoke Thursday at a G2E panel discussion on "Customer Identification Using Facial Recognition Technology: The Future is Now." Also on the panel were Jessica Medeiros Garrison, president of MDM27 Holdings, whose company Clearview offers facial recognition technology to law enforcement agencies}} Additionally, Clearview planned expansion to many countries, including authoritarian regimes.{{Cite web |title=Clearview AI Wants To Sell Its Facial Recognition Software To Authoritarian Regimes Around The World |work=BuzzFeed News |date=February 6, 2020 |access-date=February 8, 2020 |url= https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/clearview-ai-facial-recognition-authoritarian-regimes-22 }}

Senator Edward J. Markey wrote to Clearview and Ton-That, stating "Widespread use of your technology could facilitate dangerous behavior and could effectively destroy individuals' ability to go about their daily lives anonymously." Markey asked Clearview to detail aspects of its business, in order to understand these privacy, bias, and security concerns.{{Cite web |work=int.nyt.com |url= https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/6718-sen-markey-letter-to-clearview/33422997119c3d43033d/optimized/full.pdf#page=1|title=Letter from Senator Edward J Markey to Hoan Ton-That|access-date=March 5, 2020}} Clearview responded through an attorney, declining to reveal information.{{Cite web |title=Clearview Response to Sen. Markey |author=Tor Ekeland |work=markey.senate.gov |date=January 31, 2020 |access-date=March 5, 2020 |url= https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Clearview%20Response%20to%20Hon.%20Sen.%20Markey%202020.01.31.pdf}} In response to this, Markey wrote a second letter, saying their response was unacceptable and contained dubious claims, and that he was concerned about Clearview "selling its technology to authoritarian regimes" and possible violations of COPPA.{{Cite web |title=Senators Are Probing Clearview AI On The Use Of Facial Recognition By Gulf States And International Markets |work=BuzzFeed News |date=March 4, 2020 |access-date=March 5, 2020 |url= https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/senators-markey-wyden-clearview-ai-facial-recognition}}{{Cite web |title=Second letter from Sen. Markey to Hoan Ton-That |author=Edward J . Markey |work=markey.senate.gov |date=March 3, 2020 |access-date=March 5, 2020 |url= https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Markey%20Letter%20-%20Clearview%20II%203.3.20.pdf}} Senator Markey wrote a third letter to the company with concerns, stating "this health crisis cannot justify using unreliable surveillance tools that could undermine our privacy rights." Markey asked a series of questions about what government entities Clearview has been talking with, in addition to unanswered privacy concerns.{{Cite web |title=A US Senator Wants To Know Which Federal Authorities Are Using Clearview AI To Track The Coronavirus |work=BuzzFeed News |date=April 30, 2020 |access-date=May 1, 2020 |url= https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/senator-markey-clearview-ai-covid-contact-tracing}}

Senator Ron Wyden voiced concerns about Clearview and had meetings with Ton-That cancelled on three occasions.{{cite tweet |user=RonWyden |number=1218887173841326081 |date=January 19, 2020 |title=It's extremely troubling that this company may have monitored usage specifically to tamp down questions from journalists about the legality of their app. Everyday we witness a growing need for strong federal laws to protect Americans' privacy. }}

In April 2021, Time magazine listed Clearview AI as one of the 100 most influential companies of the year.{{Cite magazine|title=2021 Time100 Most Influential Companies: Clearview AI|url=https://time.com/collection/time100-companies/5953748/clearview-ai/ |access-date=2021-04-30|magazine=Time}}

In October 2021 Clearview submitted its algorithm to one of two facial recognition accuracy tests conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) every few months. Clearview ranked amongst the top 10 of 300 facial recognition algorithms in a test to determine accuracy in matching two different photos of the same person. Clearview did not submit to the NIST test for matching an unknown face to a 10 billion image database, which more-closely matches the algorithm's intended purpose. This was the first third-party test of the software.

Clearview, at various times throughout 2020, has claimed 98.6%, 99.6%, or 100% accuracy. However, these results are from tests conducted by people affiliated with the company and have not used representative samples of the population.{{Cite web |title=The ACLU Called Clearview AI's Facial Recognition Accuracy Study "Absurd" |work=BuzzFeed News |date=February 10, 2020 |access-date=February 10, 2020 |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/clearview-ai-facial-recognition-accurate-aclu-absurd}}{{Cite web |title=Clearveiw Ai Accuracy Test Oct 2019 |last=Haskins |first=Caroline |work=documentcloud.org |access-date=February 10, 2020 |url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6772775-Clearveiw-Ai-Accuracy-Test-Oct-2019.html}}

In 2021, Clearview announced that it was developing "deblur" and "mask removal" tools to sharpen blurred images and envision the covered part of an individual's face. These tools would be implemented using machine learning models that fill in the missing details based on statistical patterns found in other images. Clearview acknowledged that deblurring an image and/or removing a mask could potentially make errors more frequent and would only be used to generate leads for police investigations.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/clearview-ai-new-tools-identify-you-photos/|title=Clearview AI Has New Tools to Identify You in Photos |author=Will Knight|magazine=Wired}}

Assistant Chief of Police of Miami, Armando Aguilar, said in 2023 that Clearview's AI tool had contributed to the resolution of several murder cases, and that his team had used the technology around 450 times a year. Aguilar emphasized that they do not make arrests based on Clearview's matches alone, and instead use the data as a lead and then proceed via conventional methods of case investigation.

Several cases of mistaken identity using Clearview facial recognition have been documented, but "the lack of data and transparency around police use means the true figure is likely far higher." Ton-That claims the technology has approximately 100% accuracy, and attributes mistakes to potential poor policing practices. Ton-That's claimed accuracy level is based on mugshots and would be affected by the quality of the image uploaded.

Clearview AI experienced a data breach in February 2020 which exposed its list of customers. Clearview's attorney, Tor Ekeland stated the security flaw was corrected.{{Cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/02/clearviews-list-of-law-enforcement-clients-lost-in-data-breach/|title=Secretive face-matching startup has customer list stolen |last=Cox |first=Kate |date=February 26, 2020|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us|access-date=February 26, 2020}} In response to the leaks, the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology sent a letter to the company requesting further insight into their bio-metric and security practices.{{cite web |title=Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas Express Concern Over Recent Data Breach at Clearview AI |url=https://science.house.gov/imo/media/doc/3.03.2020%20Letter%20to%20Clearview%20AI.pdf |access-date=8 June 2024}}

While Clearview's app is only supposed to be privately accessible to customers, the Android application package and iOS applications were found in unsecured Amazon S3 buckets.{{Cite web |title=Apple has blocked Clearview AI's iPhone app for violating its rules – TechCrunch |work=TechCrunch |date=February 28, 2020 |access-date=February 29, 2020 |url= https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/28/apple-ban-clearview-iphone/}} The instructions showed how to load an enterprise (developer) certificate so the app could be installed without being published on the App Store. Clearview's access was suspended, as it was against Apple's terms of service for developers, and as a result the app was disabled.{{Cite web |title=Apple Just Disabled Clearview AI's iPhone App For Breaking Its Rules On Distribution |work=BuzzFeed News |date=February 28, 2020 |access-date=February 29, 2020 |url= https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/loganmcdonald/apple-clearview-app-violates-tos-supension}} In addition to application tracking (Google Analytics, Crashlytics), examination of the source code for the Android version found references to Google Play Services, requests for precise phone location data, voice search, sharing a free demo account to other users, augmented reality integration with Vuzix, and sending gallery photos or taking photos from the app itself. There were also references to scanning barcodes on a drivers license and to RealWear.{{Cite web |title=We Found Clearview AI's Shady Face Recognition App |work=Gizmodo |date=February 28, 2020 |access-date=February 28, 2020 |url= https://gizmodo.com/we-found-clearview-ais-shady-face-recognition-app-1841961772?rev=1582861547126}}

In April 2020, Mossab Hussein of SpiderSilk, a security firm, discovered Clearview's source code repositories were exposed due to misconfigured user security settings. This included secret keys and credentials, including cloud storage and Slack tokens. The compiled apps and pre-release apps were accessible, allowing Hussein to run the macOS and iOS apps against Clearview's services. Hussein reported the breach to Clearview but refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement necessary for Clearview's bug bounty program. Ton-That reacted by calling Hussein's disclosure of the bug as an act of extortion. Hussein also found 70,000 videos in one storage bucket from a Rudin Management apartment building's entrance.{{Cite web |title=Security lapse exposed Clearview AI source code |author=Zach Whittaker |publisher=TechCrunch |date=April 16, 2020 |access-date=April 19, 2020 |url= https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/16/clearview-source-code-lapse/ |quote=Ton-That accused the research firm of extortion, but emails between Clearview and SpiderSilk paint a different picture.}}

Clearview also operates a secondary business, Insight Camera, which provides AI-enabled security cameras. It is targeted at "retail, banking and residential buildings". Two customers have used the technology, United Federation of Teachers and Rudin Management.{{Cite web |title=The Facial Recognition Company That Scraped Facebook And Instagram Photos Is Developing Surveillance Cameras |work=BuzzFeed News |date=March 2, 2020 |access-date=March 2, 2020 |url= https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/clearview-facial-recognition-insight-camera-glasses |quote=United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and New York City real estate firm Rudin Management }}{{cite web|title=Insight Camera|url=https://insightcamera.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214170344/https://insightcamera.com/|archive-date=February 14, 2020}} The website for Insight Camera was taken down following BuzzFeed's investigation into the connection between Clearview AI and Insight Camera.{{cite web |last1=McDonald |first1=Caroline Haskins, Ryan Mac, Logan |title=The Facial Recognition Company That Scraped Facebook And Instagram Photos Is Developing Surveillance Cameras |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/clearview-facial-recognition-insight-camera-glasses |website=BuzzFeed News |publisher=BuzzFeed News |access-date=15 June 2024 |language=en |date=2 March 2020}}

Following a data leak of Clearview's customer list, BuzzFeed confirmed that 2,200 organizations in 27 countries had accounts with activity. BuzzFeed has the exclusive right to publish this list and has chosen not publish it in its entirety.{{cite web |last1=McDonald |first1=Ryan Mac, Caroline Haskins, Logan |title=Clearview’s Facial Recognition App Has Been Used By The Justice Department, ICE, Macy’s, Walmart, And The NBA |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-fbi-ice-global-law-enforcement |website=BuzzFeed News |access-date=13 June 2024 |language=en |date=28 February 2020}} Clearview AI claims that at least 600 of these users are police departments. These are primarily in the U.S. and Canada, but Clearview has expanded to other countries as well. Although the company claims their services are for law enforcement, they have had contracts with Bank of America, Kohls, and Macy's. Several universities and high schools have done trials with Clearview. The list below highlights particularly notable users.

;;American law enforcement and government

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• Illinois Secretary of State (almost 9,000 searches, has been using since approx Nov 2019)
• New York Police Department (over 11,000 searches by over 30 accounts, most of any user)
• Raleigh Police Department, North Carolina (a paid client, then its use was banned, then continued to use trial access after the ban)
• Atlanta Police Department, ($6000 one year contract)
• Chicago Police Department (a paid customer, over 1,500 searches on 30 accounts, paid $49,875 for a two-year license)
• New York State Police (a paid customer, $15,000 for licenses)
• Indiana State Police (a paid customer, over 5,700 searches)
• Miami Police Department (over 3,000 searches)
• Texas Department of Public Safety (signed a $24k contract in December 2019)

• FBI (5,700 searches)
• BATF (2,100 searches)
• US Secret Service (5,600 searches)
• DEA (2,000 searches)
• Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Air Force (signed a $50k contract in December 2019)
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (not a paid customer, 280 accounts, 7,500 searches)
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• Virginia Beach Police{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Jonathan |title=Virginia Beach police admit officers tried a controversial facial recognition program the force had denied using |url=https://www.pilotonline.com/government/local/vp-nw-virginia-beach-police-clearview-20210309-7lps2uk3ovgexlaxim7zik6lw4-story.html |access-date=16 March 2021 |publisher=Virginian-Pilot |date=9 March 2021}}

}}

;;International law enforcement

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• Vadodara City Police, part of the Gujarat Police in Vadodara, India{{cite web |title=Vadodara police set to adopt Clear View AI facial recognition app |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/vadodara-police-set-to-adopt-clear-view-ai-facial-recognition-app/ |website=The Indian Express |publisher=The Indian Express |access-date=13 June 2024 |language=en |date=28 February 2020}}
• Australian Federal Police
• Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (7 trial accounts, Nov 2019 – Jan 2020){{cite web|first=Asha|last=Barbaschow|title=AFP used Clearview AI facial recognition software to counter child exploitation

|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/afp-used-clearview-ai-facial-recognition-software-to-counter-child-exploitation/|access-date=April 15, 2020|date=April 15, 2020|work=ZDNet}}

• Metropolitan Police Service, London, UK{{cite web |last1=Mac |first1=Emily Ashton, Ryan |title=More Than A Dozen Organizations From The Met Police To J.K. Rowling’s Foundation Have Tried Clearview AI’s Facial Recognition Tech |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/emilyashton/clearview-users-police-uk |website=BuzzFeed |publisher=BuzzFeed |access-date=13 June 2024 |language=en-gb |date=28 February 2020}}
• 30 law enforcement agencies in Canada

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (paying customer, used for four months in the National Child Exploitation Crime Centre and by others as a trial){{Cite web |title=RCMP used Clearview AI facial recognition tool in 15 child exploitation cases, helped rescue 2 kids |work=Global News |access-date=March 10, 2020 |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6605675/rcmp-used-clearview-ai-child-exploitation/ |quote=The RCMP confirmed Thursday that the police force has been using the controversial facial recognition technology Clearview AI for roughly four months as part of online child sexual exploitation investigations and resulted in the rescue of two children.}}

• Ontario Provincial Police{{Cite web |title=Clearview AI: When can companies use facial recognition data? |work=Global News |access-date=March 10, 2020 |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6621410/clearview-ai-canada-privacy-data/ |quote=On Sunday, the Ontario Provincial Police admitted to previously using Clearview AI, a New York City based facial recognition software company which scrapes billions of images off both public and social media websites.}}{{Cite web |title=OPP confirms past use of controversial Clearview AI technology |work=Global News |access-date=March 10, 2020 |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6616892/opp-clearview-ai-technology/}}

• Edmonton Police Service, Edmonton, Alberta (used by three officers without department approval){{Cite web |title=Reviews launched after 3 Edmonton police officers use Clearview AI facial recognition software |work=Global News |access-date=March 10, 2020 |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6609703/edmonton-police-clearview-ai-facial-recognition-software/ |quote=A review is being done after three Edmonton Police Service officers used a new cutting edge facial recognition software before the technology has been approved by the department.}}
• London Police Service, London, Ontario (trial by seven officers){{Cite web |title=London police clear up use of controversial Clearview AI facial recognition technology |work=980 CFPL |access-date=March 10, 2020 |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6648852/london-police-clearview-ai-facial-recognition-technology/ |quote="Initial checks revealed that we were not using Clearview. That was wrong," Williams said, adding that after police had a published a statement denying the force's use of the software, a followup investigation revealed otherwise.}}{{Cite web |title=London police Clearview AI review reveals 7 officers accessed the facial recognition technology |author=Sawyer Bogdan |work=Global News |date=May 21, 2020 |access-date=May 23, 2020 |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6969069/london-police-clearview-ai-review-facial-recognition-technology/ |quote=At the London Police Services Board (LPSB) meeting on Thursday, London police Chief Stephen Williams revealed that seven officers accessed the software, with one of those officers using it in an investigation. 'Some of the members were made aware of the Clearview technology at a training seminar in November 2019, and it all surfaced at other training courses and other seminars,' Williams said.}}
• Toronto Police Service (tested from October 2019 to February 2020){{Cite web |title=Hamilton police have tried controversial facial recognition app Clearview AI, says deputy chief |work=Global News |access-date=March 10, 2020 |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6578737/hamilton-police-clearview-ai/}}{{Cite web |title=Facial Recognition Company Clearview AI Probed by Canada Privacy Agencies |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 23, 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/02/22/technology/22reuters-clearview-ai-canada.html}}
• Sweden law enforcement{{cite news |title=Polisen: Utsatt barn kunde identifieras med hjälp av omdiskuterade AI-tjänsten |website=SVT Nyheter |date=2020-03-11 |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/polisen-utsatt-barn-identifierades-med-hjalp-av-clearview-ai |language=sv |access-date=2021-02-03|last1=Grill Pettersson |first1=Mikael |last2=Carlén |first2=Linnea }}
• Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
• New Zealand Police (trialed Jan 2020)

}}

Clearview AI has had its business model challenged by several lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions. It responded by defending itself, settling in some cases, and exiting several markets.

The company's claim of a First Amendment right to public information has been disputed by privacy lawyers such as Scott Skinner-Thompson and Margot Kaminski, highlighting the problems and precedents surrounding persistent surveillance and anonymity.{{Cite web |title=Free Speech Isn't a Free Pass for Privacy Violations |last1=Kaminski |first1=Margot E. |last2=Skinner-Thompson |first2=Scott |work=Slate |date=March 9, 2020 |access-date=March 11, 2020 |url= https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/free-speech-privacy-clearview-ai-maine-isps.html |quote=Hoan Ton-That, the CEO of Clearview AI, a company that sells the use of its facial recognition software to law enforcement, recently claimed that the First Amendment gives the company the right to scrape face photographs on public social media platforms. This claim not only ignores valid concerns about facial recognition technologies—their tendency toward discrimination, their use in pervasive location-tracking, including of activists or dissidents—but also gets the First Amendment wrong. }} Former New York City Police Commissioner and executive chairman of Teneo Risk Chief Bill Bratton challenged privacy concerns and recommended strict procedures for law enforcement usage in an op-ed in New York Daily News.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-face-recognition-is-not-the-enemy-20200126-pjz4z367bvgfhaws465je5o52m-story.html|title=Face recognition is not the enemy|date=January 26, 2020|website=New York Daily News|access-date=January 26, 2020}}

After the release of The New York Times January 2020 article, lawsuits were filed by the states of Illinois, California, Virginia and New York, citing violations of privacy and safety laws.{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/clearview-first-amendment-lawsuit-defense-181859840.html|title=Clearview to rely on First Amendment to defend its face-tracking tech|date=August 11, 2020|publisher=Engadget|access-date=August 11, 2020}} Most of the lawsuits were transferred to New York's Southern District.{{cite court |litigants= Calderon et al v. Clearview AI, Inc. et al |vol= 51 |opinion=MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DENYING THE MOTION TO INTERVENE AND TO DISMISS OR, ALTERNATIVELY, TO STAY CASES OR TRANSFER VENUE |court= Southern District of New York|date=May 29 2020 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2020cv01296/532050/51/ |quote=The Virginia and San Diego cases have already been transferred to this court, so there are now six actions pending in this district. There is a motion to transfer the Chicago cases to this court pending in the Northern District of Illinois.}} Two lawsuits were filed in state courts; in Vermont by the attorney general and in Illinois on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which cited a statute that forbids the corporate use of residents' faceprints without explicit consent. Clearview countered that an Illinois law does not apply to a company based in New York.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/technology/clearview-floyd-abrams.html|title=Facial Recognition Start-Up Mounts a First Amendment Defense in Privacy Suits|date=August 11, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 11, 2020}}

In response to a class action lawsuit filed in Illinois for violating the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), in May 2020 Clearview stated that they instituted a policy to stop working with non-government entities and to remove any photos geolocated in Illinois.{{Cite web |title=Clearview AI Says Facial Photo Data Scrape Claim Is Moot – Law360 |work=law360.com |access-date=May 8, 2020 |url= https://www.law360.com/aerospace/articles/1271278/clearview-ai-says-facial-photo-data-scrape-claim-is-moot |quote=The New York-based company says it's not subject to the BIPA because the alleged wrongful conduct occurred primarily and substantially in New York, not Illinois. It says it is voluntarily changing its business practices "to avoid including data from Illinois residents and to avoid transacting with non-governmental customers anywhere." "Specifically, Clearview is canceling 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," the company said. "Clearview is also canceling all accounts belonging to any entity based in Illinois. All photos in Clearview's database that were geolocated in Illinois have been blocked from being searched through Clearview's app." }}{{Cite web |title=Mutnick v. Clearview AI, Inc., No. 20-cv-512 (N.D. Ill. filed May 6, 2020). |url=https://www.law360.com/dockets/download/5eb3e7365b54cf686ee37a75?doc_url=https%3A%2F%2Fecf.ilnd.uscourts.gov%2Fdoc1%2F067124050402&label=Case+Filing |access-date=May 8, 2020 |work=law360.com}}{{Cite web |title=Clearview AI Says It Will No Longer Provide Facial Recognition To Private Companies |work=BuzzFeed News |date=May 7, 2020 |access-date=May 8, 2020 |url= https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-no-facial-recognition-private-companies}} On May 28, 2020, ACLU and Edelson filed a new suit Clearview in Illinois using the BIPA.{{Cite web |title=ACLU V. Clearview AI — Complaint|work=ACLU |date=May 28, 2020 |access-date=May 29, 2020 |url=https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/aclu-v-clearview-ai-complaint}}{{Cite web |title=ACLU Sues Clearview AI|work=ACLU |date=May 28, 2020 |access-date=May 29, 2020 |url=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-sues-clearview-ai|quote=The lawsuit was filed in Illinois state court on behalf of the ACLU, the ACLU of Illinois, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, the Sex Workers Outreach Project, the Illinois State Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), and Mujeres Latinas en Acción. The groups argue that Clearview AI violated — and continues to violate — the privacy rights of Illinois residents under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).}} Clearview agreed to a settlement in June 2024, offering 23% of the company (valued at $52 million at the time) rather than a cash settlement, which was likely to bankrupt the company.{{Cite web |title=Clearview AI Used Your Face. Now You May Get a Stake in the Company. … |author=Kashmir Hill |work=New York Times |date=13 June 2024 |access-date=17 June 2024 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/business/clearview-ai-facial-recognition-settlement.html}}

In May 2022, Clearview agreed to settle the 2020 lawsuit from the ACLU. The settlement prohibited the sale of its facial recognition database to private individuals and businesses.{{Cite web |author=Rachel Metz |title=Clearview AI agrees to restrict US sales of facial recognition mostly to law enforcement |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/09/tech/clearview-ai-aclu-settlement/index.html |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=CNN|date=May 9, 2022 }}

In the Vermont case, Clearview AI invoked Section 230 immunity. The court denied the use of Section 230 immunity in this case because Vermont's claims were "based on the means by which Clearview acquired the photographs" rather than third party content.{{cite journal |last1=Edwards |first1=C. J. |title='Intermediary Liability and Section 230 Developments |journal=Business Lawyer |date=Winter 2021 |volume=77 |issue=1 |page=299}}

In July 2020, Clearview AI announced that it was exiting the Canadian market amidst joint investigations into the company and the use of its product by police forces.{{Cite news|last1=Boutilier|first1=Alex|last2=Gillis|first2=Wendy|last3=Allen|first3=Kate|date=July 6, 2020|title=Clearview AI to pull out of Canada and stop working with RCMP amid privacy investigation|work=Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/07/06/clearview-ai-to-pull-out-of-canada-and-stop-working-with-rcmp-amid-privacy-investigation.html|access-date=June 8, 2021}} Daniel Therrien, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada condemned Clearview AI's use of scraped biometric data: "What Clearview does is mass surveillance and it is illegal. It is completely unacceptable for millions of people who will never be implicated in any crime to find themselves continually in a police lineup."{{Cite web|date=2021-02-03|title=News release: Clearview AI's unlawful practices represented mass surveillance of Canadians, commissioners say|url=https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-news/news-and-announcements/2021/nr-c_210203/|access-date=2021-02-03|website=www.priv.gc.ca}} In June 2021, Therrien found that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had broken Canadian privacy law through hundreds of illegal searches using Clearview AI.{{Cite news|last=Boutilier|first=Alex|date=June 8, 2021|title=RCMP broke privacy laws in using controversial Clearview AI facial recognition tools, watchdog says|work=Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2021/06/10/rcmp-broke-privacy-laws-in-using-controversial-clearview-ai-facial-recognition-tools-watchdog-says.html|access-date=June 8, 2021}}

In January 2021, Clearview AI's biometric photo database was deemed illegal in the European Union (EU) by the Hamburg Data Protection Authority (DPA). The Hamburg DPA ordered deletion of biometric data for a specific affected person. The authority stated that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was applicable despite the fact that Clearview AI has no European branch offices.{{Cite news |title=Clearview AI Data Processing Violates GDPR, German Regulator Says |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/clearview-ai-data-processing-violates-gdpr-german-regulator-says |access-date=2021-02-03 |work=news.bloomberglaw.com |language=en}} The data protection advocacy organization, European Center for Digital Rights (NOYB), criticized the Hamburg DPA's decision, as the DPA order protected only one individual complainant instead of banning the collection of any European resident's photos.{{Cite web |title=Clearview AI's biometric photo database deemed illegal in the EU |url=https://noyb.eu/en/clearview-ais-biometric-photo-database-deemed-illegal-eu |access-date=2021-02-03 |website=noyb.eu |language=en}} In March 2020, Hamburg DPA requested Clearview AI's customer list, as data protection obligations would apply to customers.{{Cite news |last=SPIEGEL |first=Patrick Beuth, DER |title=Hamburgs Datenschützer leitet Prüfverfahren gegen Clearview ein |url=https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/clearview-hamburgs-datenschuetzer-leitet-pruefverfahren-ein-a-0ec1870d-c2a5-4ea1-807b-ac5c385ae165 |access-date=2021-02-03 |work=Der Spiegel |date=March 25, 2020 |language=de}}

In May 2021, the company was subject to legal complaints filed in Austria, France, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom for violating European privacy laws in its method of documenting and collecting Internet data.{{Cite news |url = https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/ai-firm-that-scraped-billions-of-faces-sparks-european-backlash |title = AI Firm That Scraped Billions of Faces Sparks European Backlash | publisher = Bloomberg Law | date = May 27, 2021}} In November 2021, Clearview received a provisional notice by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to stop processing UK citizens' data, citing a range of alleged breaches. Clearview claimed that the ICO's allegations were factually inaccurate as the company "does not do business in the UK, and does not have any UK customers at this time". The BBC reported in May 2023 that Clearview had been fined "more than £7.5m by the UK's privacy watchdog and told to delete the data of UK residents" including all facial recognition data of UK residents.{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-61550776 | title=Clearview AI fined in UK for illegally storing facial images | work=BBC |access-date=May 23, 2022}} This fine marked the fourth of its kind imposed upon Clearview, after similar orders and fines were issued by authorities in Australia, France, and Italy. However, in October 2023, the UK fine was overturned following a Clearview appeal based on the jurisdiction of the ICO over acts of foreign governments.{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67133157 | title=Face search company Clearview AI overturns UK privacy fine | work=BBC |access-date=May 16, 2024}}

In September 2024, Clearview AI was fined €30.5 million by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DDPA) for constructing what the agency described as an illegal database.{{Cite web |title=Dutch DPA imposes a fine on Clearview because of illegal data collection for facial recognition {{!}} Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens |url=https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/en/current/dutch-dpa-imposes-a-fine-on-clearview-because-of-illegal-data-collection-for-facial-recognition |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl |language=en}} The DDPA ruled that Clearview AI unlawfully collected facial images, including those of Dutch citizens, without obtaining their consent. This practice constitutes a significant violation of the EU's GDPR due to the intrusive nature of facial recognition technology and the lack of transparency regarding the use of individuals' biometric data.{{Cite web |last=Belanger |first=Ashley |date=2024-09-03 |title=Cops’ favorite face image search engine fined $33M for privacy violation |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/09/clearview-ai-fined-33m-for-building-illegal-database-of-face-images/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904044232/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/09/clearview-ai-fined-33m-for-building-illegal-database-of-face-images/ |archive-date=2024-09-04 |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}

• hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn
• DataWorks Plus

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://clearview.ai}}

Category:2017 establishments in New York City

Category:American companies established in 2017

Category:Companies based in Manhattan

Category:Facial recognition software

Category:Internet-related controversies

Category:Mass surveillance

Category:Privacy controversies