Clearview accused of breaching GDPR.
The Dutch Data Protection Agency has issued a €30.5 million (£25.6 million) fine to Clearview for hosting an “illegal database” of billions of photos of faces.
According to AP News, the Dutch agency said that building the database and insufficiently informing people whose images appear in the database amounted to serious breaches of the GDPR.
DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a statement: “Facial recognition is a highly intrusive technology, that you cannot simply unleash on anyone in the world” pointing out any photos could be added to the database.
He also said that if Clearview doesn’t halt the breaches of the regulation, it faces noncompliance penalties of up to 5.1 million euros ($5.6 million) on top of the fine.
Clearview Chief Legal Officer Jack Mulclaire said that the decision was "unenforceable," as the company does not have any business or customers in the Netherlands or the EU.
Last week the Dutch DPA issued a €290 million (£245 million)
fine for a breach of the GDPR related to European drivers’ data being transferred to the US without appropriate safeguards.
Written by
Dan Raywood
Senior Editor
SC Media UK
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.
Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.
