The National Commission for Informatics and Freedoms of France (CNIL) has obliged the developer of the Clearview AI face recognition system to delete all data concerning the citizens of the country and stop collecting them further.
# Biométrie #ReconnaissanceFaciale : la CNIL met en demeure Clearview AI de cesser la collecte et l’usage de photographies et vidéos accessibles en ligne et de supprimer les # données dans un délai de deux mois 👉 https://t.co/a1fZrCuPos pic.twitter.com/MsrD8w3St3
– CNIL (@CNIL) December 16, 2021
In May 2020, after numerous complaints from individuals, the department launched an investigation into the company. During this procedure, the CNIL identified two violations GDPR:
- illegal collection and processing of biometric data;
- the inability of the company to satisfy the request of citizens for the removal of personal information.
The CNIL chairman ordered Clearview AI to comply with the commission’s requirements within two months. Otherwise, she faces a fine, the department added.
In company thinkthat its activities are not subject to the GDPR.
“Clearview AI does not have an office in France or the EU, it has no clients in France or the EU, and is not taking any action that is subject to the GDPR,” it said in a statement.
CEO Hoan Ton-Tet once again noted that they only collect publicly available data from the open Internet and comply with all privacy standards and legal regulations.
We will remind, in November, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner demanded that Clearview AI stop collecting photographs of citizens.
In April, a US senator proposed legislation to prohibit government agencies from buying biometric data from private companies without a court order.
In February, Canadian regulators accused Clearview AI of illegally collecting data about citizens and “recommended” to stop providing services in the country.
