S.T.O.P. Welcomes Clearview AI, ACLU Settlement, Calls For National Ban

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Welcomes Clearview AI, ACLU Settlement, Calls For National Ban (NEW YORK, NY, 4/9/2021) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, welcomes Clearview AI’s settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union, agreeing to cease sales to government agencies in Illinois and private entities anywhere in the United States. But the New York civil rights organization renewed calls for a national ban on government use of facial recognition vendors like Clearview AI. The decision came in litigation where the ACLU claimed that the facial recognition firm violated Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Clearview AI has drawn international scrutiny for building its software by scraping billions of photos from the internet without consent. SEE: ACLU - In big win, settlement ensures Clearview AI complies with groundbreaking Illinois Biometric Privacy Law https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/big-win-settlement-ensures-clearview-ai-complies-with-groundbreaking-illinois NY Times - Clearview AI settles suit, agrees to limit sales of facial recognition database. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/09/technology/clearview-ai-suit.html “This is a milestone for civil rights, and the ACLU deserves our thanks for once again safeguarding our Constitution,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “But banning Clearview AI in one state is not enough; we need a national ban. Illinois has long been ahead of the curve in protecting residents from biometric surveillance, but it’s time for the rest of the country to catch up.” The civil rights group previously warned that police would expand their use of facial recognition and other surveillance technology following the repeal of Roe v. Wade and the elimination of federally protected abortion rights. Cahn continued, “It’s only a matter of weeks before we start seeing police use technologies like Clearview AI to enforce bans on abortion. We shouldn’t allow this sort of technology to target pregnant people in any state. Lawmakers across the country must move forward both with bans on facial recognition and their own versions of BIPA.” SEE: WIRED - The Fall of Roe Would Put Big Tech in a Bind https://www.wired.com/story/big-tech-roe-abortion/ Politico - Digital surveillance in a post-Roe world https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2022/05/05/digital-surveillance-in-a-post-roe-world-00030459 MSNBC - Overturning Roe v. Wade would usher in a new era of surveillance https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/roe-v-wade-opinion-surveillance-rcna27083 The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. -- END -- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.