Clearview AI Used Your Face. Now You May Get a Stake in the Company.

Keywords: Clearview AI, facial recognition, privacy, lawsuit, class action, settlement, data, shareholder

Clearview AI, the controversial facial recognition company, is facing a potential class action settlement that could grant users a stake in the company. The settlement, reached in a lawsuit alleging privacy violations, would compensate users whose data was scraped from the internet and used by Clearview’s technology without consent.

The proposed settlement would establish a data privacy fund to be distributed among eligible claimants. However, instead of receiving cash, individuals could opt to receive shares in Clearview AI. This unusual solution aims to address concerns about data privacy while potentially offering users a financial benefit.

The lawsuit, filed in 2020, accused Clearview AI of collecting and storing billions of facial images from social media platforms, websites, and public databases. The company’s technology allowed clients, including law enforcement agencies, to search for individuals using facial recognition.

This practice raised significant privacy concerns, with critics arguing that it violated individuals’ right to privacy and could be used for surveillance and discrimination.

While the settlement is still pending approval by the court, it represents a significant development in the debate over facial recognition technology. If approved, it could set a precedent for how other companies using similar technologies address privacy concerns and potential legal liabilities.

The proposed settlement raises several questions:

Will the shareholder option be a viable alternative for users concerned about their data privacy?
How will the value of Clearview AI shares be determined?
What impact will this settlement have on the future of facial recognition technology?

The answers to these questions remain uncertain, but the potential for users to gain ownership in a company that has collected their data raises crucial questions about the future of data ownership, privacy, and the intersection of technology and society.