Investigation Deems Facial Recognition Software Illegal in Canada

Clearview AI, a facial recognition software, collects data from social media including Canadian citizens. (Wikimedia Commons)

Canadian privacy commissioners concluded after a months-long investigation that Clearview AI, a facial recognition software, violates the privacy rights of Canadians. This announcement, made in a press release on February 3, marks the beginning of a larger dispute with the software company about privacy concerns, as well as a national conversation about the use of facial recognition software in Canadian police forces. 

Clearview, which is based in the U.S., collects images from social media for its database, which police officers and private companies can access to scan for matches. The database includes pictures of Canadians among its three billion images. Daniel Therrien, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, said, “What Clearview does is mass surveillance and it is illegal.”

Shortly after privacy commissioners opened an investigation into Clearview, the software company discontinued its services in Canada. However, it still holds images of Canadians in its database. The company has refused to delete the images, despite the requests of the commissioners.

Clearview has defended its actions, arguing that the images it collected were publicly available on social media. Doug Mitchell, the company’s lawyer, said that Clearview collects data in a manner comparable to companies like Google. 

McEvoy rejected the company’s argument that it had done nothing wrong. He said, “It is unacceptable and deeply troubling that a company would create a giant database of our biometric data and sell it for profit without recognizing its invasive nature.”

Investigators stated that they would pursue legal actions if Clearview does not stop collecting images of Canadians and delete the images they already have in their database. However, their options are limited, as current privacy laws in Canada do not allow for financial sanctions in such cases.

Furthermore, a separate investigation found that several Canadian law enforcement agencies and individuals, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Calgary Police, Toronto Police, and police departments in British Columbia, used the technology despite the growing concerns about the ethics of mass surveillance and the right to privacy.

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) confirmed that a detective in the department’s Integrated Child Exploitation unit utilized the software. In an email to CTV News, Sergeant Steve Addison wrote, “The detective attempted to use the technology in a child pornography investigation and conducted one search, but was unsuccessful. This was the only time the officer used the free account, and the detective later canceled it. The VPD has not authorized the use of Clearview AI for any of our members and we have no plans to use Clearview AI.”

Michael McEvoy, the Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, praised police forces for blocking further access to the technology, saying, “To the credit of the forces here in B.C., they recognize[d] this is not a proper use of this kind of technology, and they dealt with it.” 

Ultimately, McEvoy stated, their investigation shows “the need to strengthen our privacy laws to properly protect the public.”