Clearview AI: Difference between revisions

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{{StubNotice}}{{CompanyCargo

|Founded=2017

|Industry=~~Artificial Intelligence, Surveillance Technology~~

|Industry=

|Type=Private

|Website=clearview.ai

|Website=https://www.clearview.ai/

|Description=AI facial recognition software company

}}'''Clearview AI, Inc.''' is an American facial recognition company, providing software to law enforcement, government agencies, and private companies. The AI-software matches faces to a database of more than 20 billion images collected from the Internet, including social media applications. The company maintained a low profile until late 2019, when its usage by law enforcement was first reported<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Mac |first=Ryan |date=23 Jan 2020 |title=Clearview AI Says Its Facial Recognition Software Identified A Terrorism Suspect. The Cops Say That's Not True. |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-nypd-facial-recognition |website=Buzzfeed News}}</ref>.

|Logo=Clearview AI logo.svg}}

'''Clearview AI, Inc.''' is an American facial recognition company, providing software to law enforcement, government agencies, and (previously) private companies. The AI-software matches faces to a database of more than 20 billion images collected from the Internet, including social media applications. The company maintained a low profile until late 2019, when its usage by law enforcement was first reported<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Mac |first=Ryan |date=23 Jan 2020 |title=Clearview AI Says Its Facial Recognition Software Identified A Terrorism Suspect. The Cops Say That's Not True. |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-nypd-facial-recognition |website=Buzzfeed News}}</ref>.

The software is purportedly as simple as taking a photo of someone in public, then searching Clearview AI's database of over 3 billion photos which retrieves social media accounts connected to that person from all across the web<ref name=":0" />.

Clearview AI was founded by Hoan Ton-That, Charles C. Johnson, and Richard Shwartz. Ton-That is a university dropout who began his career by creating phishing applications and computer worms and was subsequently investigated by police{{~~Citation needed~~}}. Shwartz is a politician who worked for New York mayors Rudy Guiliani and Ed Koch among other politicians{{Citation needed}}. Johnson is a right-wing political activist and ~~potential~~ FBI informant<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Mattathias |date=19 Oct 2023 |title=Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-fbi-informant-charles-johnson-johnathan-buma-chs-genius-2023-10 |website=Business Insider}}</ref>.

Clearview AI was founded by Hoan Ton-That, Charles C. Johnson, and Richard Shwartz. Ton-That is a university dropout who began his career by creating phishing applications and computer worms and was subsequently investigated by police<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Owen |date=22 Jan 2020 |title=The person behind a privacy nightmare has a familiar face |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/The-person-behind-a-privacy-nightmare-has-a-14993625.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>. Shwartz is a politician who worked for New York mayors Rudy Guiliani and Ed Koch among other politicians{{Citation needed}}. Johnson is a right-wing political activist and possible FBI informant<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Mattathias |date=19 Oct 2023 |title=Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-fbi-informant-charles-johnson-johnathan-buma-chs-genius-2023-10 |website=Business Insider}}</ref>.

==Consumer-impact summary==

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...

==Entities reported to ~~use~~ Clearview AI==

==Entities reported using Clearview AI==

In 2020, Buzzfeed News published a detailed report on the use of Clearview AI<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Mac |first=Ryan |date=27 Feb 2020 |title=Clearview’s Facial Recognition App Has Been Used By The Justice Department, ICE, Macy’s, Walmart, And The NBA |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-fbi-ice-global-law-enforcement |website=Buzzfeed News}}</ref>, one of the most notable publications that brought the facial recognition company into the public eye{{Citation needed}}. According to the documents, the software has been used by "people in more than 2,200 law enforcement departments, government agencies, and companies across 27 countries"<ref name=":1" />. The following entities were listed as users of Clearview AI at some point in time, some of which have been customers of the software while others without official accounts (e.g. trial periods)<ref name=":1" />.

==='''Private companies'''===

*[[Walmart]]

*Macy's

*[[Best Buy]]

*[[Home Depot]]

*Kohl's

*Rite Aid

*Madison Square Garden

*Eventbrite

*Coinbase

*NBA

*Wells Fargo

*Bank of America

*[[AT&T]]

*[[Verizon]]

*[[T-Mobile]]

*[[wikipedia:Veritone|Veritone]] - an AI software company that tracks characteristics of individuals and vehicles among other AI capabilities {{Citation needed}}

*NEC's NeoFace WideNet - facial recognition software<ref>{{Cite web |title=NeoFace WideNet - Turn Your Images Into Evidence |url=https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/neoface-widenet-turn-your-images-into-evidence/143012279 |website=NEC on SlideShare}}</ref>

==='''Law enforcement & government entities'''===

*New York Police Department (NYPD)

*US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

*Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

*Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

*Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

*US Secret Service

*Drug Enforcement Administration

*Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)

*US Marshals

*Royal Canadian Mounted Police

*Toronto Police Service

*Australian Federal Police

*London's Metropolitan Police

*Interpol

*600+ US police departments

*At least ten fusion centers, including in Louisana and the U.S. Virgin Islands

*White House Tech Office

==='''Police departments'''===

Some police departments include (but not limited to) those located in:

*Atlanta, GA

*Gainesville, FL

*Broward County, FL

*Miami, FL

*San Mateo, CA

*Philadelphia, PA

*Wyomissing, PA

*Chicago, IL

*Raleigh, NC

*Somerset, MA

*Indiana State Police

Additional contracts were proposed to the following cities:

*Antioch, CA

*Green Bay, WI

*Davie, FL

*Bradenton, FL

===Other unspecified entities===

*College security departments

**Florida International University

**Columbia University

**and others

*Attorneys general offices

*50 educational institutions across 24 states, including at least two high schools

*46 financial institutions

*Private investigators

*Security firms

===Foreign entities===

Clearview AI has consistently maintained its position that it focuses on cosumers in the US and Canada<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haskins |first=Caroline |date=5 Feb 2020 |title=Clearview AI Wants To Sell Its Facial Recognition Software To Authoritarian Regimes Around The World |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/clearview-ai-facial-recognition-authoritarian-regimes-22 |website=Buzzfeed News}}</ref>. Yet, included in Buzzfeed's report are entities in the following locations outside the US and Canada:

*Australia

*France

*India

*Sweden

*United Kingdom

*Italy

*Greece

*Netherlands

*United Arab Emirates (private entities as well as UAE police)

*Qatar

*Singapore

*and others

Additional locations in which the company hoped to expand into include:

*Ukraine

*Colombia

*Brazil

*Nigeria

==See also==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{StubNotice}}{{CompanyCargo
 |Founded=2017
-|Industry=Artificial Intelligence, Surveillance Technology
+|Industry=
 |Type=Private
-|Website=clearview.ai
+|Website=https://www.clearview.ai/
 |Description=AI facial recognition software company
-}}'''Clearview AI, Inc.''' is an American facial recognition company, providing software to law enforcement, government agencies, and private companies. The AI-software matches faces to a database of more than 20 billion images collected from the Internet, including social media applications. The company maintained a low profile until late 2019, when its usage by law enforcement was first reported<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Mac |first=Ryan |date=23 Jan 2020 |title=Clearview AI Says Its Facial Recognition Software Identified A Terrorism Suspect. The Cops Say That's Not True. |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-nypd-facial-recognition |website=Buzzfeed News}}</ref>.
+|Logo=Clearview AI logo.svg}}
+'''Clearview AI, Inc.''' is an American facial recognition company, providing software to law enforcement, government agencies, and (previously) private companies. The AI-software matches faces to a database of more than 20 billion images collected from the Internet, including social media applications. The company maintained a low profile until late 2019, when its usage by law enforcement was first reported<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Mac |first=Ryan |date=23 Jan 2020 |title=Clearview AI Says Its Facial Recognition Software Identified A Terrorism Suspect. The Cops Say That's Not True. |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-nypd-facial-recognition |website=Buzzfeed News}}</ref>.
 The software is purportedly as simple as taking a photo of someone in public, then searching Clearview AI's database of over 3 billion photos which retrieves social media accounts connected to that person from all across the web<ref name=":0" />.
-Clearview AI was founded by Hoan Ton-That, Charles C. Johnson, and Richard Shwartz. Ton-That is a university dropout who began his career by creating phishing applications and computer worms and was subsequently investigated by police{{Citation needed}}. Shwartz is a politician who worked for New York mayors Rudy Guiliani and Ed Koch among other politicians{{Citation needed}}. Johnson is a right-wing political activist and potential FBI informant<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Mattathias |date=19 Oct 2023 |title=Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-fbi-informant-charles-johnson-johnathan-buma-chs-genius-2023-10 |website=Business Insider}}</ref>.
+Clearview AI was founded by Hoan Ton-That, Charles C. Johnson, and Richard Shwartz. Ton-That is a university dropout who began his career by creating phishing applications and computer worms and was subsequently investigated by police<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Owen |date=22 Jan 2020 |title=The person behind a privacy nightmare has a familiar face |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/The-person-behind-a-privacy-nightmare-has-a-14993625.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>. Shwartz is a politician who worked for New York mayors Rudy Guiliani and Ed Koch among other politicians{{Citation needed}}. Johnson is a right-wing political activist and possible FBI informant<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Mattathias |date=19 Oct 2023 |title=Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-fbi-informant-charles-johnson-johnathan-buma-chs-genius-2023-10 |website=Business Insider}}</ref>.
 ==Consumer-impact summary==
@@ Line 24: / Line 25: @@
 ...
-==Entities reported to use Clearview AI==
+==Entities reported using Clearview AI==
+In 2020, Buzzfeed News published a detailed report on the use of Clearview AI<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Mac |first=Ryan |date=27 Feb 2020 |title=Clearview’s Facial Recognition App Has Been Used By The Justice Department, ICE, Macy’s, Walmart, And The NBA |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-fbi-ice-global-law-enforcement |website=Buzzfeed News}}</ref>, one of the most notable publications that brought the facial recognition company into the public eye{{Citation needed}}. According to the documents, the software has been used by "people in more than 2,200 law enforcement departments, government agencies, and companies across 27 countries"<ref name=":1" />. The following entities were listed as users of Clearview AI at some point in time, some of which have been customers of the software while others without official accounts (e.g. trial periods)<ref name=":1" />.
+==='''Private companies'''===
 *[[Walmart]]
+*Macy's
+*[[Best Buy]]
+*[[Home Depot]]
+*Kohl's
+*Rite Aid
+*Madison Square Garden
+*Eventbrite
+*Coinbase
+*NBA
+*Wells Fargo
+*Bank of America
+*[[AT&T]]
+*[[Verizon]]
+*[[T-Mobile]]
+*[[wikipedia:Veritone|Veritone]] - an AI software company that tracks characteristics of individuals and vehicles among other AI capabilities {{Citation needed}}
+*NEC's NeoFace WideNet - facial recognition software<ref>{{Cite web |title=NeoFace WideNet - Turn Your Images Into Evidence |url=https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/neoface-widenet-turn-your-images-into-evidence/143012279 |website=NEC on SlideShare}}</ref>
+==='''Law enforcement & government entities'''===
+*New York Police Department (NYPD)
+*US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York
+*Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
+*Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
+*Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
+*US Secret Service
+*Drug Enforcement Administration
+*Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
+*US Marshals
+*Royal Canadian Mounted Police
+*Toronto Police Service
+*Australian Federal Police
+*London's Metropolitan Police
+*Interpol
+*600+ US police departments
+*At least ten fusion centers, including in Louisana and the U.S. Virgin Islands
+*White House Tech Office
+==='''Police departments'''===
+Some police departments include (but not limited to) those located in:
+*Atlanta, GA
+*Gainesville, FL
+*Broward County, FL
+*Miami, FL
+*San Mateo, CA
+*Philadelphia, PA
+*Wyomissing, PA
+*Chicago, IL
+*Raleigh, NC
+*Somerset, MA
+*Indiana State Police
+Additional contracts were proposed to the following cities:
+*Antioch, CA
+*Green Bay, WI
+*Davie, FL
+*Bradenton, FL
+===Other unspecified entities===
+*College security departments
+**Florida International University
+**Columbia University
+**and others
+*Attorneys general offices
+*50 educational institutions across 24 states, including at least two high schools
+*46 financial institutions
+*Private investigators
+*Security firms
+===Foreign entities===
+Clearview AI has consistently maintained its position that it focuses on cosumers in the US and Canada<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haskins |first=Caroline |date=5 Feb 2020 |title=Clearview AI Wants To Sell Its Facial Recognition Software To Authoritarian Regimes Around The World |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/clearview-ai-facial-recognition-authoritarian-regimes-22 |website=Buzzfeed News}}</ref>. Yet, included in Buzzfeed's report are entities in the following locations outside the US and Canada:
+*Australia
+*France
+*India
+*Sweden
+*United Kingdom
+*Italy
+*Greece
+*Netherlands
+*United Arab Emirates (private entities as well as UAE police)
+*Qatar
+*Singapore
+*and others
+Additional locations in which the company hoped to expand into include:
+*Ukraine
+*Colombia
+*Brazil
+*Nigeria
 ==See also==