Australia's top police met with Clearview AI after it was slammed for breaking nation's privacy law
Despite regulatory findings that the controversial facial-recognition company Clearview AI violated Australian privacy laws, top police officials continued to maintain close ties with its leadership. Documents reveal that the Australian Federal Police engaged in ongoing meetings with the company’s CEO and sought to introduce alternative facial recognition technologies to law enforcement, directly contradicting orders to cease using non-consensual data. This persistent collaboration highlights a significant disconnect between privacy mandates and operational police practices. The persistence of these interactions raises serious concerns about accountability and transparency in the deployment of surveillance tools. By continuing to host the CEO and exploring similar technologies, law enforcement appears intent on normalizing the use of facial recognition, even amidst legal prohibitions. This suggests that police agencies are prioritizing the expansion of their surveillance capabilities over strict adherence to privacy protections, creating a precedent where illegal data scraping is indirectly legitimized through institutional engagement. This situation is critically relevant to open data because it demonstrates how the non-consensual scraping of publicly available online images can be exploited for state surveillance. It underscores the dangers of relying on proprietary technologies built on illicit data collection and the lack of oversight when public agencies partner with entities that bypass consent mechanisms. The article illustrates the urgent need for robust regulations to prevent the normalization of invasive monitoring tools that undermine individual privacy rights and the integrity of open information ecosystems.
Source: crikey.com.auPublished on 2023-09-08