Tech startup Clearview AI holds more than 3 billion photos that it has collected from the internet and social media outlets.
Clearview AI works with law enforcement agencies, banks, and other companies to match phots of unknown faces to images found online. These photos are retained in Clearview AI’s database even after they are deleted from the internet. An unspecified flaw in the company’s IT allowed hackers to access the entire data set.
In a statement, Clearview AI's attorney Tor Ekeland said that while security is the company's top priority, "unfortunately, data breaches are a part of life. Our servers were never accessed.”