Clearview AI—ACLU lawsuit forced Clearview AI to permanently ban private-sector facial recognition sales nationwide
In May 2022, the ACLU won a landmark settlement under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) that permanently banned Clearview AI from making its facial database available to most businesses and private entities nationwide. Clearview was also barred from selling to any Illinois entity, including police, for five years. The suit was the first to focus on harm to survivors of domestic violence, undocumented immigrants, and communities of color. A separate 2025 class-action settlement granted class members a 23% equity stake in Clearview AI, valued at ~$52 million.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Safety for Vulnerable Users | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Surveillance Technology | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| User Privacy | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.246 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.59)× agency (compelled ×0.25)
Evidence (1 signal)
ACLU announced landmark BIPA settlement with Clearview AI banning commercial sales
The ACLU announced a settlement in its BIPA lawsuit against Clearview AI. Under the agreement, Clearview was permanently banned from selling its facial recognition database to most private companies and individuals in the US, and barred from providing access to Illinois state and local government entities for five years.