Ukraine is now using Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology for purposes such as identifying Russian soldiers, its CEO claimed. Hoan Ton-That told Reuters the company offered Ukraine’s defense ministry free access to its system following the invasion by Russia.
According to the report, Clearview suggested Ukraine could use the tech to reunite refugees with family members, fight misinformation, assess at checkpoints whether someone is a person of interest and to identify dead bodies. The company hasn’t offered its technology to Russia.
Engadget has contacted the defense ministry for comment. Ukraine officials previously suggested they were considering using the tech.
It’s not clear exactly what Ukraine is using the system for, Ton-That said, while noting it shouldn’t be used as the sole means of identification. He and Clearview advisor Lee Wolosky claimed other Ukraine government agencies plan to start using the tech over the coming days.
Ton-That said Clearview has access to more than 2 billion photos from VKontakte, the Russian social media service, and more than 10 billion images overall in its database.
Clearview’s controversial tech has come under fire from many quarters over the last few years. This month, Italy fined the company €20 million ($27.9 million) and ordered it to delete images of Italian nationals. The UK provisionally fined Clearview £17 million ($22.6 million) in November for breaking data protection laws.
Canada, Australia and France are among the countries that have told Clearview to delete images of its residents and citizens. It’s also facing privacy lawsuits in the US, where lawmakers have urged federal agencies to stop using the tech. Meta, Google, Venmo, Twitter and other platforms have demanded that Clearview stop scraping images from them as well.
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