Facial recognition firm Clearview AI overturns £7.5m UK fine on appeal
Clearview's sole use by law enforcement entities outside the UK makes it exempt, tribunal finds
In a significant legal victory for controversial US-based facial recognition technology firm Clearview AI, a UK tribunal has ruled in favour of the company, overturning a £7.5 million fine imposed by the UK's privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
The ICO had issued a formal enforcement notice in May 2022, accusing Clearview of unlawfully storing facial images of UK citizens and ordering the company to pay the fine.
The latest ruling by the tribunal, delivered earlier this week, centred on the question of jurisdiction and foreign law enforcement's use of data belonging to British citizens.
The appeal's success stemmed from the fact that Clearview is not used by UK police, and there is an exemption in UK GDPR related to use by foreign law enforcement.
The tribunal concluded that the ICO "did not have jurisdiction" to issue a fine or take enforcement action, despite Clearview's processing of data pertaining to individuals in the UK.
The tribunal stated that processing carried out by the ICO was beyond the material scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
While the tribunal acknowledged some of the ICO's arguments, it emphasised that Clearview's clientele did not include any entities in the UK or the EU. Instead, the company's customers are primarily located in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic, with a focus on cross-border investigations.
"Investigators in one country may be interested in behaviour happening in another country as criminal activity is not limited by national boundaries," the ruling stated.
Clearview AI's proprietary technology relies on a vast database of 30 billion facial images scraped from the public internet, a practice that has sparked international controversy.
The company's facial recognition app is used by multiple law enforcement agencies across the US, enabling authorities to search for matches to specific faces.
Clearview AI's founder, Hoan Ton-That, claims the technology has played a significant role in helping US law enforcement solve crimes, including murders, and that it has been used in nearly a million searches.
Critics argue that this technology effectively places everyone in a "perpetual police line-up."
Prior to the ICO's actions, Australia, France, and Italy had also taken legal action against Clearview AI.
Following a 2020 settlement resulting from a case brought by US civil liberties campaigners, the company now exclusively serves clients involved in national security or criminal law enforcement activities.
Jack Mulcaire, a lawyer representing Clearview AI, said the company was "pleased" with the outcome.
Meanwhile, the ICO said it would "take stock" of the judgment, emphasising that the ruling does not diminish the ICO's ability to act against international companies processing data from individuals in the UK, particularly entities engaged in data scraping activities.
The agency underlined that this case pertains to a specific exemption related to foreign law enforcement agencies.