Clearview AI is an American technology company that provides facial recognition software, which is used by private companies, law enforcement agencies, universities and individuals. Clearview AI, a facial-recognition software maker that has sparked privacy concerns, said Wednesday it suffered a data breach. Clearview AI's technology allows for the collection of huge numbers of images from various sources that can help police forces, financial institutions and other clients identify people. Clearview AI claims there are Australian police that are using its technology. Clearview AI violated Canada’s privacy laws by scraping photos of citizens from the internet without permission, the country’s regulators announced on Tuesday. "Clearview AI is a search engine that uses only publicly available images accessible on the internet," Clearview AI's attorney, Tor Ekeland, told CNN Business in an emailed statement. The investigation also revealed that Clearview had 48 contracts with law enforcement agencies around the country, including Canada’s state policy agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Clearview AI was found to be used in Canada in early 2020 by the RCMP and other police agencies. The company has developed technology that can match faces to a database of more than three billion images indexed from the Internet, including social media applications. 4 In response to the investigation, Clearview ceased offering its facial recognition services in Canada as of July 6, 2020. Clearview AI was founded in 2017 by Richard Schwartz and now-CEO Hoan Ton-That. It found that Clearview AI had collected highly sensitive biometric data scraped from websites and social media platforms without users' knowledge or consent, and disclosed personal information "for inappropriate purposes," creating risks of significant harm to individuals. NOYB (None of Your Business): Home News Clearview AI’s biometric photo database deemed illegal in the EU, but only partial deletion ordered; ACLU: ACLU v. Clearview AI; ACLU: Defendant’s Memorandum in Support of its Motion to Dismiss In February 2020, the Commissioners launched an investigation into Clearview following significant media controversy over Clearview's alleged collection and use of personal information without consent. BuzzFeed News reported that in pitches to law enforcement agencies, Clearview AI had told police to "run wild" with its facial recognition, despite saying that it had restrictions to protect privacy. In an interview with the New York Times, Hoan Ton-That, chief executive officer of Clearview AI, said that they have stopped operations back in Canada since July of 2020. "Clearview AI is a search engine that collects public data just as much larger companies do, including Google, which is permitted to operate in Canada," Mitchell said Wednesday. Clearview AI, a start-up with a database of more than three billion photographs from Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, has been hacked. Clearview AI reports that police use of the company’s highly-controversial facial recognition system jumped 26 percent following the raid on the Capitol.. “Clearview AI only collects public information from the Internet which is explicitly permitted,” Doug Mitchell, a lawyer for Clearview AI, said in a statement. Clearview AI’s technology allows for the collection of huge numbers of images from various sources that can help police forces, financial institutions and other clients identify people. Clever malware, student surveillance, and more of the week's top security news. Clearview wound down operations in Canada after the investigation began and cut ties with the RCMP, the only remaining client, in July 2020. Security News This Week: Clearview AI's Massive Client List Got Hacked. Clearview AI's latest patent application reveals the firm's ongoing plans to use surveillance against vulnerable individuals. Clearview AI offers facial recognition services for law enforcement and other organizations VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A U.S. company is being slammed for what amounts to mass surveillance of Canadians, scraping billions of images of people from across the internet in what’s being called a clear violation of your privacy rights. Clearview AI CEO Hoan Ton-That previously told multiple news outlets the company focuses on law enforcement clients in North America, but an internal document obtained by BuzzFeed News … "Clearview AI is a search engine that collects public data just as much larger companies do, including Google, which is permitted to operate in Canada," Mitchell said Wednesday. In a news release, they stated Clearview AI’s technology allowed law enforcement and commercial organizations to match photographs of unknown people against the … Clearview AI's technology allows for the collection of huge numbers of images from various sources that can help police forces, financial institutions and other clients identify people. Clearview AI's lawyer, Tor Ekeland, told Business Insider in an emailed statement, "Clearview is a photo search engine that only uses publicly available data on the Internet. Clearview… Facial-recognition company Clearview AI Inc., under regulatory and legal scrutiny in Europe, North America and Australia, is having to increasingly tailor its business to regional privacy laws. The company counts Peter Thiel and AngelList founder Naval Ravikant among its investors. A controversial facial recognition company has just informed its customers of a data breach in which its entire client list was stolen. (ABC News: James Carmody)The ABC contacted police in all states and territories, as well as the AFP and Home Affairs. But just a day after the hack hit the news, a Buzzfeed report revealed Clearview AI’s client list is even more concerning than previously thought. New York-based Clearview AI’s practice of vacuuming up millions of images of Canadians and offering facial recognition services for customers constituted illegal “mass surveillance,” according to a probe by four privacy commissioners.. According to BuzzFeed News, a patent was filed in August which describes in detail how the applications of facial recognition can range from governmental to social — like dating and professional networking. Clearview AI, the U.S.-based facial recognition technology firm, is allowing Canadians to check whether their face appears in the company’s massive image database. OTTAWA — A new watchdog report says Canadian use of U.S. firm Clearview AI’s facial-recognition technology violated federal and provincial laws governing personal information.