Vermont Attorney General Sues Clearview A.I. Over Data Violations

Last year, Vermont led the nation by passing the first “data broker” law in the US. The law requires companies that collect and sell Vermonters’ digital data to register with the state and provide details on their activities. The legislation was applauded by privacy advocates worldwide, but there remained concerns that enforcement would be difficult, as many of the worst offenders are based out-of-state and overseas.

We began to see signs of enforcement last Tuesday when Vermont state Attorney General TJ Donovan filed suit against Clearview AI, a New York-based firm specializing in facial recognition technology. Clearview’s flagship product collects online photos, such as those posted on Facebook, and enters them into a database. Law enforcement agencies as well as private businesses (basically, anyone who can afford the service) can use the database to identify someone from a photo or security camera footage. All of this is done without the person’s consent or knowledge.

Turns out, the Clearview situation is more than just shady: according to Donovan, the practice is “unscrupulous, unethical, and contrary to public policy” and is a serious violation of both the state’s Data Broker law and the Consumer Protection Act. The Attorney General’s office highlighted some of the most important points in a press release last week:

• Vermonters have no way to opt-out of having their faces “scraped” from online photos, or even of knowing that their data is being collected.
• The facial recognition service also targets children, again without their or their parents’ consent or knowledge.
• Just this month, a serious data breach occurred at Clearview, exposing their client list and calling into question how well they secure the data they collect.

At the time of writing, the State has filed a formal complaint against Clearview in Chittenden Superior Court and also sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding the company stop collecting data while the proceedings move through the courts.

Our take: what Clearview AI is doing is indeed outrageous, and the Attorney General should be commended for taking action. However, we also need to direct some outrage at Clearview’s customers. It’s bad enough that Clearview has sold data to oppressive governments in places like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Here at home, their client list also includes many police departments, as well as corporations like Walmart and Verizon. We need to ask ourselves why these organizations want to recognize and track us and even our children, and hold them accountable if we’d prefer they didn’t.

Read more at the Vermont State Attorney General’s site: [link]

Full disclosure: Tim West’s girlfriend, Madison Braz, works in the Attorney General’s Office as part of the state’s Consumer Assistance Program.