👤 Deleting Your Face

If you've never heard of Clearview AI, they know who you are. Or, at least your face. Clearview is a facial recognition company that scrapes 20 billion images from around the internet to identify people, and officials in the UK are unhappy with the trove of data the company holds on its country's citizens. As The Verge reports, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has ordered the company to delete data on all UK citizens and further fined the company over £9 million for failing to comply with a previous order. 

• The UK is the fourth nation to order data deletion on behalf of its citizens, following Australia, Italy, and France. 

• In the UK, Clearview's services were previously used by ​​the Metropolitan Police, Ministry of Defence, and National Crime Agency.

American Lawsuit

The ACLU filed a suit against Clearview in 2020 for violating Illinois state law, MSNBC notes. The lawsuit claimed the company failed to get consent from state residents before their biometric data was collected or used. Earlier this month, Clearview settled the case, and agreed “not to sell its product to most private companies and individuals in the United States.”

The Verdict

It's heartening to see countries begin to fight against mass private biometric data collection (even if their own law enforcement agencies once used the product). That being said, a lawsuit in Illinois that led to a loose commitment by Clearview is nowhere near enough action in the US.