The Facial Recognition Company That Scraped Facebook And Instagram Photos Is Developing Surveillance Cameras
Summary
Clearview AI, the secretive company that’s built a database of billions of photos scraped without permission from social media and the web, has been testing its facial recognition software on surveillance cameras and augmented reality glasses, according to documents seen by BuzzFeed News. As BuzzFeed News first reported, Clearview documents indicated more than 2,200 public and private entities have been credentialed to use its facial recognition software including Macy’s, Kohl’s, the National Basketball Association, and Bank of America. In a statement, UFT, a labor union that represents teachers in New York City public schools, said the technology was “successful” in helping security personnel identify individuals who had made threats against employees so they could be prevented from entering one of its offices. A spokesperson for Rudin Management, which has a portfolio of 18 residential and 16 commercial office buildings as well as two condominiums in New York City, confirmed to BuzzFeed News that it had tested Insight cameras. “Retail: Manhattan’s top food retailer has hired CV to provide facial- recognition hardware & software for its supermarket chain.” Privacy advocate Evan Greer, deputy director of digital rights activist group Fight for the Future, said that brick-and-mortar stores are seen as “community spaces” and that one of the most attractive applications for Clearview in the private sector would be screening people as they enter a store to see if they have a criminal record.