Clearview AI Fights Consumer Push to Shut Down Face Recognition

Clearview AI Inc. is battling what the company calls an “unprecedented” attempt by consumers in Illinois to convince a court to block its facial recognition technology.

The proposed court order seeks to prevent Clearview from using people’s likenesses without permission, in a lawsuit that claims violation of the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. Such an order could force Clearview to shut down nationwide, according to a Friday legal brief from the company’s lawyers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Clearview has faced controversy for scraping more than 3 billion images from social media and other ...