According to the AP, Clearview has ‘scraped’ these photos from the internet without the consent of the people involved. The software can recognize faces on, for example, security images. “Is a photo of you on the internet, and who isn’t? Then you can end up in the Clearview database and be followed,” says Aleid Wolfsen, chair of the AP. “This is not a doomsday scenario from a scary movie.”
Regulation and supervision
The AP emphasizes that although facial recognition can be useful for intelligence services, this technology should absolutely not be managed by commercial companies. Wolfsen states: “This must be managed by competent authorities under strict conditions and under the supervision of the AP and other supervisors.”
Clearview AI did not appeal the fine and did not cooperate with the investigation. “The chance that Clearview will not pay the fine is very real,” a spokesperson for the AP reports. “That is unacceptable. Such a company should not be allowed to continue violating the rights of Dutch and other Europeans with impunity.”
International Fines and Personal Liability
Clearview previously received fines from other European countries such as France, Great Britain and Austria, but these have not been paid. The AP is now also considering holding the company’s management personally liable. “We want to investigate whether we can prosecute the top executives personally,” Wolfsen adds.
This fine is the second highest the AP has ever imposed, after Uber’s fine last week for passing on data from European taxi drivers to the US without complying with privacy rules. The AP hopes that this step makes it clear that violating privacy laws has serious consequences.
