The British Columbia Court of Appeal has rejected U.S. facial recognition company Clearview AI’s attempt to overturn a decision holding it accountable under Canadian privacy regulations, even after it exited the Canadian market.
Background on the Privacy Probe
Privacy regulators in British Columbia, Alberta, Québec, and at the federal level launched an investigation after Clearview AI started promoting its facial recognition technology to Canadian customers in 2020. The probe determined that the company breached provincial and federal privacy rules by collecting facial images from online sources without consent.
British Columbia’s privacy commissioner issued an order in 2021 directing Clearview AI to halt its services in the province and delete all gathered data. The company pulled out of the Canadian market amid the ongoing review.
Appeal Court Ruling
Clearview AI sought a judicial review in the B.C. Supreme Court, arguing that provincial laws did not apply extraterritorially. The court dismissed the claim, ruling that the firm’s harvesting of online facial data from British Columbia residents created a “real and substantial connection” to the province.
The Appeal Court upheld this, rejecting Clearview AI’s position that privacy laws could not extend beyond provincial borders. It stated that such an interpretation would shield any company using global internet searches from domestic privacy protections.
“This would significantly compromise the ability of jurisdictions such as B.C. to protect personal information on the internet,” the ruling emphasized.
Representatives for Clearview AI have not commented on the decision.
