UK regulator fines facial recognition company $9M for illegally storing images

A U.S. facial recognition company is being fined almost $9.4 million by a U.K. privacy regulator for illegally gathering photos from the internet to create a global database for law enforcement officials.

Clearview AI, a New-York based company, has collected more than 20 billion facial images from online posts and social media platforms without informing users they would be collected to create an online database that could be used by police in their investigations. The database violates U.K. data protection laws, prompting officials to fine the company and order it to delete the data.

“The company not only enables identification of those people, but effectively monitors their behaviour and offers it as a commercial service,” said U.K. Information Commissioner John Edwards in a statement. “That is unacceptable. That is why we have acted to protect people in the UK by both fining the company and issuing an enforcement notice.”