June 22nd 2024.
A settlement was reached on Friday by facial recognition startup Clearview AI in a lawsuit filed in Illinois. The lawsuit claimed that the company's extensive collection of facial images violated the privacy rights of those whose faces were included. The settlement is estimated to be worth over $50 million, with attorneys' fees amounting to $20 million to be deducted from the settlement amount. Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman of the Northern District of Illinois granted preliminary approval to the agreement.
The lawsuit consolidated multiple cases from across the United States against Clearview AI, a company that gathers photos from social media and various internet sources to create a database that is then sold to businesses, individuals, and government entities. In 2022, the company settled a separate case in Illinois where it was accused of violating privacy rights and agreed to stop selling access to its database to private entities. However, the company was still allowed to work with federal agencies and law enforcement outside of Illinois, as the state has strict digital privacy laws. Clearview has not admitted any liability as part of the latest settlement agreement.
In a written statement on Friday, James Thompson, an attorney representing Clearview in the suit, expressed the company's satisfaction with the settlement. The lead plaintiffs' attorney, Jon Loevy, called the agreement a "creative solution" that was necessary due to Clearview's financial status. He stated that the company did not have enough funds to pay fair compensation to the class, so a creative solution was needed. Under the settlement, the victims whose privacy was breached will now have the opportunity to participate in any future financial success of the company, thereby reclaiming some ownership of their biometric data.
The settlement is open to anyone whose images or data were in Clearview's database and lived in the U.S. from July 1, 2017. A national campaign will be launched to notify potential plaintiffs as per the agreement. The settlement was developed with the help of Wayne Andersen, a retired federal judge who now mediates legal disputes. In court filings, Andersen stated that Clearview would not have been able to pay a multi-million-dollar judgment if the lawsuit went to trial. He also mentioned that there was uncertainty about whether the company would have enough funds to make it through the trial.
However, some privacy advocates and people pursuing other legal action against Clearview have expressed disappointment with the settlement, stating that it will not bring about any change in the company's operations. Sejal Zota, an attorney and legal director for Just Futures Law, an organization representing plaintiffs in a California lawsuit against Clearview, believes that the agreement only legitimizes the company's actions. She stated that the root of the problem is still not being addressed, as Clearview will continue to harvest and sell people's faces without their consent and use them to train its AI technology.
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