Background information
- Date of final decision: 13 April 2023
- Cross-border case or national case: National case
- Controller: CLEARVIEW AI
- Legal Reference: Article 6 (Lawfulness of processing), Article 12 (Transparent information, communication and modalities for the exercise of the rights of the data subject), Article 15 (Right to access by the data subject), Article 17 (Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’)), Article 31 (Co-operation with the supervisory authority)
- Decision: Administrative fine
- Key words: Facial recognition
Summary of the Decision
Origin of the case
CLEARVIEW AI collects photographs from a wide range of websites, including social networks, and sells access to its database of images of people through a search engine in which an individual can be searched using a photograph. The company offers this service to law enforcement authorities. Facial recognition technology is used to query the search engine and find an individual based on its photograph.
In a decision of 17 October 2022, the restricted committee – the French SA body responsible for issuing sanctions – imposed a fine of 20 million euros and ordered the company not to collect and process data on individuals located in France without any legal basis, and to delete the data of these individuals, after responding to requests for access it received.
Key Findings
CLEARVIEW AI had two months to comply with the order and to justify compliance to the French SA. However, the company did not send any proof of compliance within this time limit.
Decision
On 13 April 2023, the French SA’s restricted committee considered that the company had not complied with the order and consequently imposed an overdue penalty payment of EUR 5,200,000 on Clearview AI.
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