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Tag: Hoan Ton-That

  • Clearview AI App Disabled On the App Store

    Clearview AI App Disabled On the App Store

    Clearview AI’s troubles continue to mount, with the company’s app being disabled on the App Store for violating Apple’s rules.

    Buzzfeed News first noticed that Clearview was doing an end-run around Apple’s distribution rules, “encouraging those who want to use the software to download its app through a program reserved exclusively for developers.” Buzzfeed contacted Apple to inquire about the situation, prompting Apple to investigate. As a result of their investigation, Apple suspended Clearview’s developer account, preventing the app from functioning. Apple told Buzzfeed the developer program Clearview was using is only for distributing apps within a company, not the kind of widescale distribution Clearview was using it for.

    In statement obtained by Buzzfeed, Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That said: “We are in contact with Apple and working on complying with their terms and conditions. The app can not be used without a valid Clearview account. A user can download the app, but not perform any searches without proper authorization and credentials.”

    Clearview has been on an impressive streak of earning the disfavor of politicians, corporations, privacy advocates, journalists and citizens alike. The company has scraped millions of websites to amass a facial recognition database of some three billion photos, in the process violating the terms of service for industry giants like Google, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The company has been accused of monitoring how police are using the app to discourage them from interacting with journalists. Clearview was suspected of planning worldwide expansion, including to oppressive regimes, only to have its client list stolen, which showed it has already moved forward with those plans.

    Now the company has managed to violate Apple’s rules about how developers can or cannot distribute apps. Given the company’s shady practices, it’s a safe bet no one will be shedding a tear over this one.

  • Clearview AI Expanding Internationally—With Authoritarian Regimes

    Clearview AI Expanding Internationally—With Authoritarian Regimes

    In further proof that Clearview AI can’t be trusted, BuzzFeed News is reporting the facial recognition firm is planning on selling its services to authoritarian regimes.

    Clearview claims to have scraped over 3 billion photos from millions of websites, including the major social media platforms. The company then makes those photos available, in a searchable database, to hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the country.

    According to BuzzFeed, “a document obtained via a public records request reveals that Clearview has been touting a ‘rapid international expansion’ to prospective clients using a map that highlights how it either has expanded, or plans to expand, to at least 22 more countries, some of which have committed human rights abuses.”

    Three of the countries are the United Arab Emirates, which is known for cracking down on dissidents, as well as Qatar and Singapore, both of which have far more restrictive human rights laws than Western countries.

    In an interview with BuzzFeed, Albert Fox Cahn, a fellow at New York University and the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, expressed concern about the implications of the software being used by oppressive regimes.

    “It’s deeply alarming that they would sell this technology in countries with such a terrible human rights track record, enabling potentially authoritarian behavior by other nations,” he said.

    Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That has been defending his company amid growing scrutiny and concern over the legality and ethics of its behavior. The New Jersey Attorney General recently enacted a moratorium on police departments using the company’s service. Twitter, Facebook, Google and YouTube have sent cease-and-desist letters to Clearview. Now, as lawmakers increasingly turn their attention toward the company, it’s a safe bet this latest news will not help Clearview’s case.