Clearview AI to provide tools for responsible facial recognition use by law enforcement

Clearview AI is planning to introduce new compliance features for its biometric application to help law enforcement customers enforce usage rules and prevent abuse of the facial recognition technology, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The company’s CEO Hoan Ton-That told an audience during the Tech Live virtual conference held by the Journal that Clearview will make training and compliance features available to help ensure the technology is used ethically, but that police department leaders would be responsible for monitoring officers and enforcing rules in place. One of the features would reportedly be the association of a specific case number with each search to assist with auditing.

Ton-That noted that it is not the company’s job to set policy.

He also said that facial recognition will continue to be used by law enforcement, and how it will be used is the remaining question. Clearview is used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify pedophiles, Ton-That said as an example of how the company’s technology is used.

The application is used by more than 2.400 law enforcement agencies in the U.S., according to Clearview. More than 2,200 law enforcement agencies were reported to have used the service as of March, 2020, though many appeared to have done so on a free trial basis. The Journal reports that the company’s last valuation on Pitchbook estimates it is worth $37 million, though a company representative said it is valued at over $100 million.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  Clearview AI  |  facial recognition  |  police