Clearview violated several tenets of UK data protection law, according to the ICO, including failing to use data in a “fair and transparent” manner (given that residents’ images were scraped without their knowledge or consent), “failing to have a lawful reason for collecting people’s information,” and “failing to have a process in place to stop the data being retained indefinitely.”
However, while the ICO has fined Clearview and ordered the company to remove UK data, it is unclear how this would be implemented given that Clearview has no business or clients in the nation to penalize. In response to a similar deletion order and penalties issued earlier this year in Italy under EU law, Clearview’s CEO Hoan Ton-That stated that the US-based corporation was simply not subject to EU regulations.
