The company in a legal filing Monday agreed to permanently stop selling access to its face database to private businesses or individuals around the U.S., putting a limit on what it can do with its ever-growing trove of billions of images pulled from social media and elsewhere on the internet.
The settlement — which must be approved by a county judge in Chicago — will end a 2-year-old lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups over alleged violations of an Illinois digital privacy law. The company still faces a separate privacy case before a federal judge in Illinois.
Clearview is also agreeing to stop making its database available to Illinois state government and local police departments for five years. The New York-based company will continue offering its services to federal agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to other law enforcement agencies and government contractors outside of Illinois.
“This is a huge win,” said Linda Xóchitl Tortolero, president of Chicago-based Mujeres Latinas en Acción, which works with survivors of gender-based violence and was a plaintiff in the case along with the ACLU and other groups.
Among the concerns raised by Tortolero’s group was that photos posted on social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram — and turned into a “faceprint” by Clearview — could end up being used by stalkers, ex-partners or predatory companies to track a person’s whereabouts and social activity.
This story is from the May 13, 2022 edition of AppleMagazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 13, 2022 edition of AppleMagazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
UN SAYS E-WASTE FROM TRASHED ELECTRIC DEVICES IS PILING UP AND RECYCLING ISN'T KEEPING PACE
U.N. agencies have warned that electrical and electronic waste is piling up worldwide while recycling rates remain low and are likely to fall even further.
FRENCH REGULATORS FINE GOOGLE $272 MILLION IN DISPUTE WITH NEWS PUBLISHERS
France's competition watchdog hit Google on Wednesday with another big fine tied to a long-running dispute over payments to French publishers for their news.
SPACEX COMES CLOSE TO COMPLETING TEST FLIGHT OF MEGA ROCKET BUT LOSES SPACECRAFT NEAR END
SpaceX came close to completing an hourlong test flight of its mega rocket on its third try Thursday (14), but the spacecraft was lost as it descended back to Earth.
TEXAS APPROVES LAND-SWAPPING DEAL WITH SPACEX AS COMPANY HOPES TO EXPAND ROCKET-LAUNCH OPERATIONS
SpaceX would acquire public land in Texas to expand its rocket-launch facilities under a tentative deal that is moving forward after months of opposition from nearby residents and officials near the U.S.-Mexico border.
APPLE TO PAY $490 MILLION TO SETTLE ALLEGATIONS THAT IT MISLED INVESTORS ABOUT IPHONE SALES IN CHINA
Apple has agreed to pay $490 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging CEO Tim Cook misled investors about a steep downturn in iPhone's sales in China that culminated in a jarring revision to the company's revenue forecast.
SPOTIFY PAID $9 BILLION IN ROYALTIES IN 2023. HERE'S WHAT FUELED THE GROWTH
Spotify paid out $9 billion in streaming royalties last year, the streaming giant said this week in its latest \"Loud and Clear\" report.
AN AI ROBOT IS SPOTTING SICK TULIPS TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF DISEASE THROUGH DUTCH BULB FIELDS
Theo works weekdays, weekends and nights and never complains about a sore spine despite performing hour upon hour of what, for a regular farm hand, would be backbreaking labor checking Dutch tulip fields for sick flowers.
ELECTION MISINFORMATION IS A PROBLEM IN ANY LANGUAGE.BUT SOME GETS MORE ATTENTION THAN OTHERS
Warnings about deepfakes and disinformation fueled by artificial intelligence. Concerns about campaigns and candidates using social media to spread lies about elections. Fears that tech companies will fail to address these issues as their platforms are used to undermine democracy ahead of pivotal elections.
AS ELECTRIC VEHICLE SALES SLOW, US RELAXES PLANS FOR STRICTER AUTO EMISSIONS STANDARDS FOR A WHILE
The Biden administration this week is expected to announce new automobile emissions standards that relax proposed limits for three years but eventually reach the same strict standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
PAIR ACCUSED OF STEALING BATTERY MANUFACTURING SECRETS FROM TESLA AND STARTING THEIR OWN COMPANY
Two men are accused of starting a business in China using battery manufacturing technology pilfered from Tesla and trying to sell the proprietary information, federal prosecutors in New York said.