OTTAWA –
Three provincial privacy watchdogs have asked facial recognition company Clearview AI to stop collecting, using and disclosing people’s images without their consent.
The privacy authorities of British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec are also asking the US company to delete images and biometric data collected without the consent of individuals.
The order announced today follows a joint investigation by the three-province privacy agency with the office of federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien.
Watchdogs found Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology led to mass surveillance of Canadians and violated federal and provincial laws governing personal information.
They said the New York-based company’s collection of billions of images of people from all over the internet was a clear violation of Canadians’ privacy.
Clearview AI’s technology enables the collection of images from a variety of sources that can help police forces, financial institutions and other customers identify people.
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