- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Adrianne Appel2023-05-11T20:37:00
France’s data protection authority (DPA) announced Wednesday it issued a fine of 5.2 million euros (then-U.S. $5.7 million) against facial recognition company Clearview AI last month for failing to comply with an October order to cease and desist from further violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Clearview AI collects photographs from websites and then sells access to the database of images together with a search engine that can identify people. The company advertises the capabilities as helpful to law enforcement and security, but organizations and governments have raised concerns—and issued orders—that Clearview AI’s tools endanger the privacy of citizens and run afoul of regulations like the GDPR.
The company was ordered in October to stop including photos of French residents in its databases and to pay €20 million (then-U.S. $19.6 million). The French DPA, CNIL, said then if Clearview AI didn’t comply with the order within two months, it would have to pay additional fines up to €100,000 per day.
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Clearview AI was fined 30.5 million euro (U.S. $33.8 million) by the Dutch Data Protection Authority and ordered to stop collecting images of Dutch citizens in the latest enforcement action against the U.S. company.
The lack of clear regulations and guidelines for the ethical use of facial recognition technology further exacerbates concerns of discriminatory practices and potential infringements on human rights.
France’s CNIL became the fourth European data protection authority this year to fine Clearview AI over its controversial facial image aggregation practices, matching a pair of its counterparts with a €20 million (U.S. $19.6 million) penalty.
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French defense and aviation contractor Thales Group is under investigation by authorities in the U.K. and France for allegedly participating in bribery and corruption.
Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, named by Donald Trump on Friday as his nominee for Treasury Secretary, has a clear mandate to deregulate the financial markets should he take the helm.
