Clearview AI stops facial recognition sales in Canada amid privacy investigation

Clearview AI will no longer sell its facial recognition software in Canada, according to government privacy officials investigating the company. The end of Clearview AI operations in Canada will also mean the end of the company's contract with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, according to an announcement released today by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Canadian privacy officials started investigating Clearview AI in February following media reports about the company's practice of scraping billions of images from social media and the web without consent from the people in photos in order to create its facial recognition system. Critics say Clearview's approach could mean the end of privacy. Government officials from Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta provinces continue to investigate Clearview AI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police use of its facial recognition software despite Clearview's exit.