Canada investigating facial recognition company Clearview AI over privacy, security concerns

Canada's privacy authorities on Friday said they are investigating New York-based Clearview AI over concerns the facial recognition technology may not comply with Canadian privacy law.

Clearview AI bills itself as a tool for law enforcement, scraping the internet for publicly available photos and using facial recognition to identify potential suspects, reports Moira Warburton at Reuters, Critics in both Canada and the United States have raised concerns about the lack of consent of those searched, and the potential for misuse of the service.

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Several police forces in Ontario have publicly acknowledged they have used Clearviews services, including the police force in Toronto, Canadas most populous city.

The privacy commissioners of Canada and of the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Qubec will jointly investigate whether the companys practices are in compliance with Canadian privacy legislation.

The investigation was initiated as a result of media reports that raised questions and concerns about whether the company is collecting and using personal information without consent, said a joint statement from the commissioners offices.

Read more at Reuters: Facial recognition company Clearview AI probed by Canada privacy agencies

Previously at Boing Boing:

Clearview AI founder linked to Trump world and Far-Right, NYPD denies facial recognition firm's boast that it helped catch terrorist suspect

Twitter tells facial-recognition app maker to stop scraping photos, Clearview AI used by 600+ US law enforcement agencies

The answer to the Clearview AI scandal is better privacy laws, not anti-scraping laws Read the rest