Dutch regulator fines Clearview AI €31m for ‘illegal’ facial database
Clearview AI, a US-based startup that provides facial recognition software, has been hit with a fine by the Dutch Data Protection Agency (DPA) over its creation of an ‘illegal database’ of more than a billion photos of faces.
In addition to the €30.5m penalty handed out to Clearview, the DPA has also warned Dutch companies that they are not permitted to use the company’s services.
According to the DPA, the database was built without its subjects being sufficiently warned and therefore it amounts to a serious breach of Europe’s GDPR.
“Facial recognition is a highly intrusive technology that you cannot simply unleash on anyone in the world,” stated DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen.
“If there is a photo of you on the internet – and doesn’t that apply to all of us? – then you can end up in the database of Clearview and be tracked. This is not a doom scenario from a scary film. Nor is it something that could only be done in China.”
According to the DPA, Clearview has not officially objected to the decision and is therefore unable to appeal against the fine.
However, Clearview AI, which describes itself as “the world’s largest facial network” has released a statement to the media through its chief legal officer Jack Mulcaire, which calls the decision “unlawful, devoid of due process and unenforceable”.
Mulcaire also stated that the Dutch DPA has no jurisdiction over Clearview because the AI startup does not operate in the European Union.
“Clearview AI does not have a place of business in the Netherlands or the EU, it does not have any customers in the Netherlands or the EU, and does not undertake any activities that would otherwise mean it is subject to the GDPR,” he said.
Clearview made a similar appeal against a £7.5m fine issued in 2022 by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). A UK judge ruled that the ICO did not have the jurisdiction to issue an enforcement notice or financial penalty.
However, Clearview has faced similar legal action in the US that has cost the firm. Earlier this year, the firm reached a settlement over a case filed in Illinois that alleged Clearview’s portfolio of faces breached subjects’ privacy rights.
Although Clearview did not admit any liability as part of the settlement, the deal could be worth as much as $50m in compensation.
According to the case, which consolidated several cases brought across the US, Clearview pulls images from social media and other online destinations to compile a database of faces that is then sold to individuals, government agencies and businesses.
Clearview has stated that it has more than 50 billion images in its database, and in addition to incurring the wrath of data protection agencies, it has also faced several cease-and-desist letters from a number of social media sites and platforms over its image-scraping practices.
