Clearview AI in Illinois BIPA Suit Settlement

Clearview AI promised to comply with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), in a settlement filed Monday at Illinois Circuit Court in Cook County. Under the agreement with American Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs, which the court must approve, Clearview wouldn’t be able to sell access to its facial recognition database to most businesses across the U.S. Also, the company would cease selling access to Illinois entities including police for five years. “Clearview can no longer treat people’s unique biometric identifiers as an unrestricted source of profit,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project deputy director. “Other companies would be wise to take note, and other states should follow Illinois’ lead in enacting strong biometric privacy laws.” The court last year denied Clearview AI’s motion to dismiss the case (see 2108270068). Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That said the agreement doesn't stop the company from "selling its bias-free algorithm, without its database, to commercial entities on a consent basis, which is compliant with BIPA." The company's attorney Lee Wolosky of Jenner Block said the settlement is a "huge win" for Clearview, which "will make no changes to its current business model."