Clearview AI hit with its largest GDPR fine yet as Dutch regulator considers holding execs personally liable
The Netherlands' data protection authority has imposed a penalty of €30.5M on Clearview AI for GDPR violations.
Clearview AI, the controversial U.S.-based, facial recognition startup that built a searchable database of 30 billion images populated by scraping the internet for people’s selfies without their consent, has been hit with its largest privacy fine yet in Europe.
The Netherlands’ data protection authority, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP), said on Tuesday that it has imposed a penalty of €30.5 million — around $33.7M at current exchange rates — on Clearview AI for a raft of breaches of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) after confirming the database contains images of Dutch citizens.
This fine is larger than separate GDPR sanctions imposed by data protection authorities in France, Italy, Greece and the U.K. back in 2022.
In a press release, the AP warned it has ordered an additional penalty of up to €5.1M that will be levied for continued non-compliance, saying Clearview failed to stop the GDPR violations after the investigation concluded, which is why it has made the additional order. The total fine could hit €35.6M if Clearview AI keeps ignoring the Netherlands regulator.
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