Clearview AI, a facial recognition company facing controversy, made attempts to acquire large quantities of arrest records, which included sensitive details like social security numbers, mugshots, and email addresses, to enhance its offerings.
For many years, this company has gathered billions of images from various social media platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and provided access to its facial recognition technology to law enforcement agencies.
The practice of collecting and selling user-generated photos without consent led to significant public outcry when it was first uncovered by the New York Times in 2020.
Recent documents show that Clearview AI sought to spend close to a million dollars on the purchase of “690 million arrest records and 390 million arrest photos” from an intelligence firm that operated across all 50 states.
The contract specified that the records would include personal information like home addresses, birth dates, arrest photographs, social security numbers, phone numbers, and email addresses.
Clearview aimed to acquire this data from Investigative Consultant, Inc. (ICI), which promoted itself as an intelligence company with access to numerous databases and the capacity to create tailored data streams for clients.
The agreement was finalized in mid-2019, a period when Clearview was still relatively unknown while amassing billions of images from the internet.
In the end, the deal collapsed due to disagreements over the data’s effectiveness, resulting in both companies filing breach of contract claims.
The matter went to arbitration, a process where disputes are typically resolved privately. In 2024, the arbitrator ruled in favor of Clearview AI, instructing ICI to return the contract funds.
However, ICI has not yet complied, and Clearview is now pursuing a court order to enforce the arbitrator’s decision. The president of ICI, Donald Berlin, has faced allegations in a lawsuit for producing false intelligence reports and defamation.
At present, Clearview promotes its technology as having the largest known database with over 50 billion facial images sourced from public websites, including news media and mugshot sites. The company has also informed its clients that it aimed to acquire all U.S. mugshots from the last 15 years.
Court documents indicate that while Clearview AI was developing its image database, it was simultaneously trying to secure sensitive personal information.
The company has faced scrutiny both in the U.S. and internationally for collecting images from social media, asserting that it aimed to gather enough images to make “almost everyone in the world identifiable,” according to an investor presentation reviewed by the Washington Post.
This report indicated that Clearview AI invested millions in data purchases, but it remains unclear if acquiring social security numbers was part of those plans. Clearview holds contracts with various local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
Acquiring booking photos for a facial recognition system raises significant privacy issues, as highlighted by Jeramie Scott, Senior Counsel & Director of EPIC’s Project on Surveillance Oversight.
He emphasizes the inherent biases in facial recognition algorithms and the potential for human bias from police reviewing the images.
Many innocent individuals have been wrongfully arrested due to misidentifications by facial recognition technology, particularly affecting Black individuals, as this technology tends to be less reliable for Black and brown faces.
“Should Clearview AI’s search results link individuals to their alleged mugshots and associated data, it could skew the judgment of human reviewers,” Scott explained.
“When examining multiple results, reviewers might gravitate towards the person with the mugshot, which could disproportionately impact Black and brown individuals who are overrepresented in the criminal justice system.”
The effort to purchase sensitive information, such as social security numbers and location data, has attracted the attention of lawmakers and regulators.
Previous reports have shown that highly personal data can be easily accessed online, leading authorities to charge some data sellers with crimes.
The Department of Justice has previously seized websites linked to the sale of social security numbers and other personal information, successfully convicting a Ukrainian individual for managing these sites.
Ultimately, Clearview AI faces an uncertain future amid numerous lawsuits and substantial fines from regulators worldwide. The company believes its business will expand under the second Trump administration, especially with a new CEO in place.
However, Clearview may need to relinquish nearly a quarter of its ownership to resolve at least one complex class-action lawsuit related to biometrics. Internationally, regulators have imposed heavy fines for privacy violations, although Clearview has also won some cases on appeal.
Clearview may never recover over a million dollars from ICI or its president, as the funds were deposited directly into Berlin’s personal checking account instead of an escrow service.
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