Clearview AI Questioned on Facial Recognition Use Amid Protests

Clearview AI should let independent analysts review its facial recognition software to avoid bias and inaccuracy that could lead to false arrests of protesters, Sen. Edward J. Markey told the company in a letter.

Markey (D-Mass.) said a previous set of questions he sent the company in late April about law enforcement’s use of its technology “failed to allay” his concerns about infringement of Americans’ civil liberties, including privacy.

“It is important that law enforcement does not use technological tools to stifle free speech or endanger members of the public,” Markey wrote in his Monday letter to Clearview AI CEO Hoan Ton-That.

The letter by Markey, who requested Clearview responses by June 22, highlights lawmakers’ concerns about protecting the privacy of peaceful protesters following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

Ton-That said in an email the company received Markey’s letter and will respond.

“Clearview AI’s technology is intended only for after-the-crime investigations, and not as a surveillance tool relating to protests or under any other circumstances,” he said.

Markey in his letter said an independent assessment would test for “error rates for true negatives, false matches, and people of color,” he wrote.

He asked whether the company has begun any new contracts with law enforcement since May 25, if searches have increased since protests began, and if Clearview will prohibit agencies from using its technologies to identify peaceful protesters.