Clearview AI, a company that provides clients with a facial recognition database, has won an appeal against the UK’s privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The company was previously fined over £7.5 million by the ICO for illegally storing facial images. Clearview AI offers a search engine-like system where users can upload a photo to find matches in its database of billions of scraped images from the internet. The system has been used by US law enforcement agencies to assist in solving crimes, but critics argue that it subjects everyone to constant surveillance. The appeal ruling stated that the ICO did not have jurisdiction to take action against Clearview AI because it only provided services to non-UK/EU law enforcement or national security bodies.
Clearview AI’s victory in its appeal against the ICO’s fine and enforcement action means that the company will not be penalized for its data processing activities. The appeal ruling stated that Clearview AI’s services were exclusively provided to law enforcement and national security bodies outside the UK, and therefore, the ICO did not have jurisdiction in this case. However, the ruling does not grant a blanket permission for scraping activities more generally, as scraping large volumes of publicly available data can still fall under the purview of UK data protection rules. The ICO expressed that it can still take action against international companies processing data of individuals in the UK, particularly those engaged in scraping data, as this ruling only covers a specific exemption relating to foreign law enforcement.
This appeal ruling has significant implications for the use of facial recognition technology and the privacy rights of individuals. Clearview AI’s database contains billions of images scraped from the internet, which raises concerns about mass surveillance and the potential for misuse of personal data. While Clearview AI has been praised for assisting in criminal investigations, critics argue that it effectively subjects individuals to a “perpetual police line-up.” The ruling highlights the need for robust privacy regulations to govern the use of facial recognition technology and the scraping of personal data.
