The article details how private groups have adopted facial-recognition software—similar to that developed by Clearview AI—to identify and report protesters, an action that has spurred legal challenges and raises concerns about the company’s role in facilitating surveillance of dissent.

Clearview AI was fined over €30 million by the Dutch data protection watchdog for building an illegal facial recognition database by scraping billions of images without consent, with an additional non-compliance order issued. This event underscores significant ethical violations in the company’s business practices and its provision of intrusive surveillance technology to law enforcement agencies.

Clearview AI reached a settlement in an Illinois lawsuit alleging that its method of aggregating facial images from online sources violated privacy rights. The settlement, which offers affected individuals a share in any future company upside rather than immediate compensation, comes as the company continues to work with law enforcement agencies, raising concerns about its ongoing role in enabling surveillance.

Clearview AI settled a biometric privacy lawsuit by agreeing to give the class of plaintiffs 23% equity in the company and a 17% share of its revenues for two years. The unusual settlement, driven by massive liabilities and financial distress, highlights continuing concerns over its controversial surveillance-based business practices.

Senator Edward J. Markey sent a letter to Clearview AI CEO Hoan Ton-That demanding detailed answers on the company’s practices of mass biometric data collection and its deployment of facial recognition technology by law enforcement, raising concerns over privacy rights, civil liberties, and the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities.

Under a legal settlement in Illinois, Clearview AI agreed to strict new restrictions that prevent it from selling its massive facial recognition database to private entities nationwide and limit access for law enforcement, reinforcing biometric privacy and protecting vulnerable communities.

Clearview AI has drawn significant criticism for its secretive and ethically questionable operations. The company scrapes billions of online images without consent, provides its technology to law enforcement and government agencies—including regimes with authoritarian tendencies—and its executive leadership has demonstrated troubling links with far‑right political circles. These practices have contributed to wrongful identifications, privacy violations, and potential targeting of dissenters.

On May 10, 2023, the Austrian SA (DSB) issued a decision against Clearview AI for infringing multiple articles of the GDPR. The decision found that the company unlawfully processed personal data, including the unlawful extraction and storage of facial biometric data, ordering the company to erase the complainant's data and designate an EU representative.

According to data from OpenSecrets, Clearview AI spent $180,000 on federal lobbying in 2023. This spending reflects the company's active engagement in influencing political processes, which may be aimed at shaping regulatory environments in favor of its controversial facial-recognition and surveillance technologies.

On February 9, 2022, federal lawmakers including Senators Markey and Merkley and Representatives Jayapal and Pressley sent letters to various federal agencies urging them to discontinue the use of Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology, citing risks to public anonymity and disproportionate impact on marginalized communities.