US lawmakers propose to ban Clearview AI by law

Senator Ron Wyden introduced the bill “Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale”, which would prohibit government agencies from purchasing Clearview AI data without a court order.

Today I’m introducing my legislation to put a stop to the federal government using its credit card to end-run the Fourth Amendment. My #4thAmendmentIsNotForSale Act will make it illegal for the government to buy your location data without a warrant.

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) April 21, 2021

According to the politician, the bill would not allow intelligence agencies to purchase data about Americans in the United States or abroad if they were obtained “by means of deception, hacking, breach of contract, privacy policy violations or terms of service.” The bill would also ban obtaining metadata about calls, emails and text messages without a court order.

According to Wyden’s office, the bill has already received bipartisan support from 20 данным сенаторов.

Clearview AI chief executive Hoan Ton-Tet [Hoan Ton-That] says the company operates within the law. He says the service’s database is built from photographs from the open internet, which are accessible from any computer anywhere in the world.

“We look forward to discussing with policymakers the best ways to protect user data and remain a resource for law enforcement in the fight against crimes against children, human trafficking, financial fraud and domestic terrorism,” Ton-That said.

He added that the company’s lawyers will study the bill closely and provide their feedback if such an opportunity arises.

Earlier, a group of 70 American civil rights organisations urged Biden to stop using Clearview AI.

In March 2021, activists filed a lawsuit in California about cessation of Clearview AI‘s operations in the state.

In February, the Minneapolis City Council banned city police from using facial recognition technologies, including Clearview AI.

In January, Clearview AI announced an increase in the number of requests to the service from law enforcement agencies, a day after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington.

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