Legal battle over Clearview AI’s origin takes a turn as accuser drops suit

Fortunes have swung in a long-simmering legal skirmish between biometrics firm Clearview AI and an extreme right wing commentator who claims to be a co-founder of the company.

Charles Johnson, whom the New York Times calls a “notorious conservative provocateur,” has dropped a case arguing he is owed a share of Clearview’s profits. In response, the facial recognition company and one of its investors have filed counterclaims against Johnson.

Johnson facilitated meeting between billionaire, Clearview CEO

While Johnson filed his suit in 2023, the case goes all the way back to before the controversial facial recognition firm existed.

In a 2021 report, the New York Times described how, at the 2016 Republican National Committee Convention in Cleveland, Johnson introduced Clearview’s current CEO, Hoan Ton-That, to the billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, who later provided seed money for a company called SmartCheckr LLC – which would go on to become Clearview.

Johnson variously classifies himself as an angel investor, an investigative journalist and, on occasion, a confidential informant for the FBI. He is on record as a Holocaust denier and was permanently banned from Twitter in 2015 after posting comments seeking help to murder a Black Lives Matter activist. He has contributed to right-wing publications The Daily Caller and Breitbart News. He is also known to have ties to J.D. Vance and Donald Trump.

Ton That has stated that, while Johnson did introduce him to Thiel, he has no active role with Clearview, no seat on the company’s board and no other internal influence.

Judge warns Johnson over social media harassment

Regardless of who connected whom with Peter Thiel – a major figure in the technocratic right’s movement to replace democratic government with something more like a Silicon Valley startup – Johnson’s claims against Clearview are now legally euthanized.

Per a report from IPVM, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York did not give a reason for why Johnson dropped his claim, but dismissed it “with prejudice,” meaning he cannot refile.

Johnson himself, however, gave a statement to IPVM saying he dismissed his case against Clearview AI at the request of Department of Homeland Security agents, and alluding to the notion that Clearview is a Chinese spyware company.

Clearview’s counterclaims alleging a breach of contract and defamation on Johnson’s part, claiming Johnson waged a “campaign of harassment” against the company on social media. Polk Failla acknowledged the social posts, writing that “any other public statements by Plaintiff (Johnson) regarding this case or any of its participants runs the risk of sanctions from this court.”

Hal Lambert’s Point Bridge Capital, an investor in Clearview AI, has filed a separate lawsuit alleging that Johnson has engaged in a fraud and extortion scheme. Both that suit and Clearview’s counterclaims are ongoing.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Clearview AI  |  facial recognition  |  lawsuits