Italian regulator fines Clearview AI of 20 million euros

Italian privacy regulator GPDP fined Clearview AI on Wednesday 20 million euros. The GPDP has determined that the US company is ‘unlawfully collecting biometric data from Italian citizens’.

Clearview AI allows users to upload a photo of someone and the software will search for the most similar face from the more than three billion people in the database. The database is supplemented by the company behind the software by scraping websites and social media, among other things.

The GPDP’s investigation began after it received complaints and warnings about its facial recognition software. The investigation finds that Clearview AI “processes biometric data from Italians without an appropriate legal basis.” In addition, the American company has violated the GDPR by, among other things, not sufficiently informing users about how their personal data is processed and used, the GPDP says.

In addition to paying the fine of 20 million euros, Clearview AI must delete the photos of all Italians. Further collection of data and photos by the company is also prohibited. Finally, Clearview AI must appoint a representative in the European Union, who can be held accountable for the processing of Italian personal data in addition to or instead of its headquarters in the US.

It is not the first time that a European privacy watchdog has slapped Clearview AI on the fingers. The British privacy regulator ICO also fined Clearview AI last year of 20 million euros. Last December, the French privacy watchdog ordered the American company to stop processing photos from the internet of French citizens. In addition, Clearview AI had to remove all photos of Frans within two months.