https://surveillance.news/2023-04-12-ai-firm-nabs-online-photos-sends-law-enforcement.html
AI firm nabs 30 billion online photos and sends them to law enforcement to prosecute Americans
04/12/2023 / By JD Heyes
As much of a hit as personal privacy has already taken in the Internet age, whatever shred of it was left has now been completely ripped away thanks to artificial intelligence.
The CEO of Clearview AI, a widely criticized tech firm infamous for invading people’s privacy, has admitted that the company has scraped approximately 30 billion photos from social media sites. Clearview AI has curated and compiled these photos, providing them to surveillance state authorities to use as they see fit, all in secrecy and without any oversight.
This aligns perfectly, by the way, with the warnings from the Founders about the unchecked power of authorities.
Clearview AI has reportedly collaborated with law enforcement agencies to provide them with information to aid in identifying and prosecuting individuals involved in the January 6 insurrection, who are currently being pursued by the FBI, PJ Media reported earlier in the week.
Clearview AI promotes its ability to identify individuals involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, assist in preventing child abuse or exploitation, and exonerate those who have been wrongly accused of crimes. However, critics have raised concerns about privacy violations and wrongful arrests caused by inaccurate identifications made through facial recognition technology. Examples of such incidents include cases in Detroit and New Orleans, Business Insider noted further.
Clearview AI’s CEO, Hoan Ton-That, admitted in an interview with the BBC last month that the company obtained photos without users’ knowledge. The approach enabled the company to swiftly expand its extensive database, which is marketed on its website as a tool for law enforcement to “bring justice to victims.”