Ann Cavoukian calls Toronto police’s use of Clearview AI ‘appalling’

While he deserves some praise for halting the use of a controversial image search tool, Ann Cavoukian, the head of Global Privacy & Security by Design, and the former Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, says Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders has got a serious problem on his hands.

“He’s got to get his house in order,” she told IT World Canada. “How can other officers and various departments use something like this without his authorization?”

Cavoukian, referring to Clearview AI, a U.S.technology company that supplies law enforcement agencies with powerful image recognition software, was surprised to find out that some Toronto Police Service members had been using Clearview AI last October.

The Globe and Mail first reported the news about the Toronto Police Service and its use of Clearview AI Thursday, on the heels of extensive coverage from the New York Times about the software’s use in the U.S.