(Washington, DC) – Today, Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) sent a letter to the CEO of Clearview AI, Mr. Hoan Ton-That, expressing their concern over reports of the company’s recent data breach.
Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology and other services are used widely by law enforcement agencies. In the letter, the Chairwoman and Ranking Member are requesting answers on how Clearview AI collects, uses, and protects data and how data breaches could affect law enforcement operations.
“We are deeply concerned about recent reports that indicated Clearview AI was breached and has ‘lost its entire client list to hackers,’” said Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas in the letter. “Clearview AI’s work appears subject to very little government oversight, despite the serious privacy questions raised by the intended use of Clearview AI’s technology. These concerns are compounded immensely by the knowledge that the firm has now been the subject of a successful hacking operation. We believe that Clearview AI needs to provide answers to some basic questions about how the company collects, uses, and protects U.S. citizens’ data. Since we know that numerous law enforcement agencies already use your services, we also have questions about how data breaches at your company could affect ongoing law enforcement operations.”