Professors Hartzog and Richards: Clearview AI Gets Privacy and First Amendment Wrong

In a recent Boston Globe op-ed Professors Woody Hartzog, an EPIC Advisory Board member, and Neil Richards assert that Clearview AI's claim of a First Amendment right to scrape, analyze, and disseminate publicly available photos is a threat to privacy that misunderstands the right to free speech. Clearview AI's claim is a response to a lawsuit filed under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) challenging the company’s collection of photos and sale of facial recognition services. EPIC filed an amicus brief before the 9th Circuit defending an individual's right to sue companies who violate BIPA and other privacy laws. Recently EPIC filed FOIA requests with several government agencies revealed as users of Clearview AI technology. Earlier this year, EPIC and over 40 organizations urged the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to recommend the suspension of face surveillance systems across the federal government.