 Clearview AI is raking in the cash with its facial recognition software, signing lucrative contracts that make all Americans easier targets for government surveillance. The latest award is a $10 million deal with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Clearview was previously fined more than $30 million by Dutch regulators for privacy violations related to data collection. It also settled privacy violation charges in the U.S. for tens of millions more. But none of that has stopped the company from becoming a favorite of law enforcement and government intelligence agencies in the United States. In fact, we’ve written about the dangers of facial recognition more times than we can count. Its continued popularity only proves that the federal government cares more about purchasing facial recognition software than regulating its use. As a result, states have had to step in and fill the regulatory gap. The new ICE contract means that Clearview will be used to help identify individuals accused of assaulting its officers – a commendable goal. But the accumulation of Americans’ faces into a single database is an immense temptation for abuse in many other domains, including surveillance for political reasons. You may applaud or deplore ICE’s new aggressiveness. The larger is issue what the government, or Clearview itself, will do down the road with the mass collection of America’s facial data. Our faces, along with the rest of our biometric data – and our privacy in general – remain for sale. Of course, we’re assuming that the software will actually recognize us rather than mistake us for someone else. As spy tech goes, facial recognition can’t seem to win for losing. It’s enough to make one yearn for the quaint times of Oscar Wilde, who once said, “I never forget a face, but in your case I will make an exception.” Comments are closed.
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