Facebook has sent a stop letter to Clearview AI, an AI start-up, asking it to stop using user images to identify itself for law enforcement purposes. Many social media have sent the same letter before.
According to reports, Clearview AI has been collecting billions of photos from the Internet and facilitating the identification systems of more than 600 police stations.
Twitter said it had sent letters of suspension and termination to the start-up in January. Alphabet's YouTube has also asked Clearview AI to stop grabbing user information, while PayPal's Venmo is sending a complaint.
A Facebook spokesman said multiple letters had to be sent to Clearview AI to clarify the social network's policies and provide information about the activities of the face recognition startup. "Capturing people's information is against our policy, so we ask Clearview to stop accessing or using information from Facebook or Instagram," the spokesman said
Clearview AI's technology can identify a person's face, phone number, name or even address by comparing photos with billions of online social media materials.
Sites such as YouTube and twitter have reportedly made provision for such activities in their user agreements and are taking steps to prevent such abuse.
Hoan Ton-That, CEO of Clearview AI, said in a press interview that the technology used in the app would not be made public. He said the app only applies to identifying criminals in law enforcement operations.
He also compared his company's activities with those of Google, the search engine. "Google has access to information from a variety of websites," he said. So if it exists publicly and can be retrieved in Google search, then it should be allowed for us to use it. "
