John,
This is terrifying: A database of more than 3 billion images scraped from Facebook, YouTube, Venmo and other sites, accessible to hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
The app is Clearview, a secretive facial recognition app that goes beyond what government agencies or Silicon Valley giants have been willing to create.1
The app isn’t publicly available yet, but it’s only a matter of time before Clearview is accessible to everyone—or a similar program is created and shared widely. And then, someone walking down the street or listening to you have a conversation in public can snap a picture of you, run it through the program, and know who you are and personal details that they could use to stalk and harm you.
No one is safe. This is why we must ban facial recognition immediately.
John, can you rush an urgent donation to power up the campaign to ban facial recognition?
Yes, I’ll donate!
This company is all about secrecy. We don’t know what companies or agencies are using it (though we do know that more than 600 law enforcement agencies are already using Clearview). The address listed on its website is fake. The employee listed on the website is a fake name used by the company’s owner.
This secrecy is to allow it to spread under the radar. And the secrecy doesn’t stop with the company: rogue New York Police Department cops are using the app, even though their own facial recognition unit isn’t using it (due to security concerns).2
But since there are no federal laws governing facial recognition, this technology isn’t illegal. And unless we stop it, it’s going to grow and spread.
That’s why we’re attacking facial recognition from many angles—pushing for federal, state, and local bans, and fighting its presence in schools, music festivals, and more.
But we can’t do this work without you. Make a donation right now to stop this Clearview app from spreading, to protect your privacy, and to ban facial recognition.
DONATE
In the New York Times article about Clearview, Al Gidari, a privacy professor at Stanford Law School says, “Absent a very strong federal privacy law, we’re all screwed.”
We’re fighting for the strong laws we need to protect us all. Please chip in right now to fight this invasive technology before we’re all screwed.
For Privacy,
Caitlin at Fight for the Future
Footnotes:
1. New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/technology/clearview-privacy-facial-recognition.html
2. NY Post: https://nypost.com/2020/01/23/rogue-nypd-cops-are-using-sketchy-facial-recognition-app-clearview
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
