This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
Published on June 18, 2020, a New York Times investigation revealed the activities of Californian startup Clearview AI, whose facial recognition tool could potentially end the ability to walk down the street anonymously.
Clearview AI's tool doesn't use photos held by governments but instead scrapes billions of photos from social media sites. While social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn protested against the unsanctioned use of their users' photos, Clearview AI refused to delete them.
The firm, which received funding from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, has already signed up 600 law enforcement agencies worldwide. According to advocacy group AlgorithmWatch, at least 10 European police forces already use facial recognition technology and haven't needed to turn to the tech giants.
"Tools for conducting facial recognition are widely available," said journalist Nicolas Kayser-Bril, who did the research behind the AlgorithmWatch report. He noted that BriefCam, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational Canon, is one of the leaders in the European market.
China has begun to export its facial recognition technology, particularly via its telecoms equipment giant Huawei. A company executive told a business forum in Morocco last year that with its technology, not only the identity of a person can be identified but also educational and work experience, personal preferences, and recent travel.
France's interior ministry is expected to unveil soon proposals to widen the use of the technology, with officials keen to be able to use it in certain cases such as terrorist attacks and child kidnappings.
