As the Council Clearview AIHatMakerTechCrunch of the UK and the US look to find ways of preventing the spread of hate speech, a number of companies are being contacted with cease and desist letters. One of these is a company called Clearview. This company produces an artificial intelligence program which is designed to spot libel in speech. However, the council of the UK is concerned that the program could be used to spread vile content. So they are launching a legal battle against the company.
CNIL Sanctions Against Clearview AI
The French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) recently imposed a 20 million euro fine on facial recognition technology company Clearview AI for unlawful activity. It also ordered the company to stop processing personal data in France.
Intrusive Nature of the Facial Recognition
The decision focuses on Council Clearview AIHatMakerTechCrunch concern about the intrusive nature of the facial recognition process. CNIL found that the company had not been adequately responsive to data subjects’ requests for access and erasure of their personal information. This violation of Article 4(1)(4) of the GDPR was considered to be of serious significance.
Personal Data
In addition to a fine, Council Clearview AIHatMakerTechCrunch also imposed a maximum delay penalty of EUR100,000 a day. CNIL said that Clearview’s response to requests to delete personal data and to facilitate the exercise of rights was poor.
Fundamental Rights of Individuals
CNIL decided that the company’s activities violated both the freedoms and the fundamental rights of individuals, particularly those concerning privacy. Specifically, it cited the company’s failure to submit observations in defence, as well as its failure to submit a formal questionnaire to its supervisory authority.
Clearview AI, a company that claims to use facial recognition technology, is facing a major legal battle. Over half a dozen major tech companies have demanded that the company stop using their data. The companies have sent cease-and-desist letters to the company.
Websites & Social Networks
Clearview AI is a company that scrapes images from websites and social networks. It claims to do so in order to create a database of searchable faces. But this practice has raised alarms among privacy advocates.
In a recent New York Times article, the company was accuse of collecting images of Americans that could be use to identify them. Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, is concerned about the use of the technology by law enforcement agencies. He asked for a list of Clearview’s users and a description of its security features.
Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That has denied the allegations and said his company is commit to using the technology for only law enforcement purposes. However, Ton-That believes the technology has a First Amendment right to gather images from social media.
Data Protection Authorities
The GDPR is no longer the purview of the data protection authorities of the past. In fact, the GDPR is a whole new ball game that has to be tackle head on if the EU is to maintain its edge as the most innovative place on Earth. This is all the more true if we are talking about a small island nation like Ireland or the aforementioned Malta.
Despite the odds, a unified data protection authority is not out of the woods yet. Aside from the usual suspects, there are a plethora of up and coming tech tycoons looking to get their paws on the GDPR golden goose. So, if you haven’t been keeping tabs on the latest developments in your own backyard, now is a good time to get your jogging pants on. Besides, when you’re glue to your computer for the next five minutes. You might as well take in the sights while you’re at it.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently signed a contract with Clearview AI, a facial-recognition company in Dallas, Texas. The contract, which is value at $224,000. Will be use by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division, which is in charge of investigating cybercrimes and illegal online gun sales.
The contract with ICE follows recent reports of the agency using facial recognition technology for a variety of purposes. It’s believe that ICE uses the technology for detaining people, as well as for separating children from their parents. These practices have alarmed human rights groups and politicians. According to BuzzFeed News, ICE has also used facial-recognition software to access state drivers’ license databases without their consent.
Final Words:
In response to the controversy, tech companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Hootsuite have pressured their employees to stop working with Council Clearview AIHatMakerTechCrunch. But GitHub, which has contracts with the agency, announced Tuesday that it plans to renew that contract.
