Facebook and Venmo Urge Clearview AI to Cease Data Scraping Activities

Following Google and Twitter, Facebook has now joined the legal battle against the controversial facial recognition startup Clearview AI. According to Buzzfeed News, Facebook recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to Clearview, demanding it cease its data collection from Facebook and Instagram. "Scraping people's information violates our policies, which is why we've insisted that Clearview stop accessing or using data from our platforms," a Facebook spokesperson stated.

Prior to this letter, Facebook attempted multiple strategies to persuade Clearview to comply. CBS News reported that the social media giant sent several letters seeking clarification on Clearview's practices and requested specific information regarding its data usage.

Clearview AI faced significant backlash earlier this year when The New York Times revealed that the company had been scraping billions of images from websites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube without user consent to enhance its facial recognition database. The startup collaborates with over 600 law enforcement agencies across North America and claims its technology boasts a 99.6% accuracy rate in identifying individuals.

The timeline of Facebook's legal actions raises questions, especially since companies like Google acted faster. A possible explanation is the connection between Facebook board member Peter Thiel, an early investor in Clearview. This relationship may have complicated Facebook's response. We have reached out to Facebook for further comment and will provide updates as they become available.

In related news, CBS News also reported that Venmo has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Clearview. In an interview with CBS, Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That stated his company would contest these letters, arguing it possesses a First Amendment right to utilize publicly available information. "Google compiles information from various websites," he remarked, likening Clearview's operations to a search engine. "If it's public and accessible, it belongs in search results, whether on Google or our platform."

However, Google countered Ton-That’s comparison, asserting that website owners can control their data's inclusion in Google’s search results, including opting out entirely.

Adding to the complexity, the lack of federal regulations governing facial recognition technology in the U.S. poses significant challenges. While some cities, like San Francisco, have enacted partial bans, there remains a lack of uniformity in regulations across states and cities.