Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has entered into a $224,000 agreement with Clearview AI, a New York-based facial recognition startup that is currently facing lawsuits from both tech companies and civil rights organizations. The contract, which lists only 'mission support' as its purpose, was signed with the contracting office designated as 'ICE mission support Dallas,' according to documents obtained by the tech accountability nonprofit Tech Inquiry.
The deal comes amid growing scrutiny of facial recognition technology and its use by government agencies. Clearview AI has been at the center of controversy since early this year, when it emerged that the company had sold its technology to thousands of organizations worldwide. Tech giants including Facebook, Google, and Twitter have since sent cease-and-desist letters to the startup, alleging that it scraped their users' photos without permission.
In May, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against Clearview AI, accusing the company of illegally collecting and selling stored data on Illinois citizens without their consent. The lawsuit, filed under the state's biometric privacy law, adds to the legal challenges facing the startup.
The contract with ICE is not the first time the agency has been linked to facial recognition technology. In 2018, Amazon attempted to sell its Rekognition software to ICE, though that deal never materialized. More recently, ICE and the FBI were reported to have accessed drivers' license data without obtaining consent from the drivers, according to the Washington Post.
The use of facial recognition by law enforcement has also been questioned in court. Last week, a UK court ruled that the South Wales Police's use of facial recognition tools violated human rights laws because the technology did not adequately address racial biases. That ruling has added to the debate over the deployment of such systems by public authorities.
What 'Mission Support' Means for ICE
The exact nature of the services Clearview AI will provide to ICE remains unclear, as the contract documents do not specify the scope of work. However, the deal is likely to draw continued scrutiny from civil rights groups and privacy watchdogs, who have raised concerns about the potential for facial recognition to be used in immigration enforcement.
Clearview AI's technology allows users to upload a photo and search for matches across billions of images scraped from social media and other public websites. The company has defended its service as a tool for law enforcement, but critics argue that it undermines privacy and can lead to false identifications.
The contract with ICE is one of the latest examples of the growing use of biometric technology by federal agencies, despite calls from lawmakers and advocacy groups for a moratorium on its use. The outcome of the lawsuits against Clearview AI, as well as the company's ongoing contracts, will likely shape the future of facial recognition regulation in the United States.
For now, the specific details of the ICE-Clearview agreement remain under wraps, but the deal is a clear signal that the agency is moving forward with biometric tools, even as the legal and ethical questions surrounding them intensify.
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