A memo written by Oklahoma City staff says the Oklahoma City Police Department is seeking facial comparison software that allows investigators to identify suspects in videos. Of the three companies the department contacted, Clearview AI provided the only product that met its specifications.
Earlier this year, Clearview AI was involved in a nationwide class-action settlement stemming from allegations the company scraped billions of facial images from the internet and sold that information without consent.
Oklahoma City Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon, one of the two councilmembers who voted against approving the police department’s request, called the AI facial comparison software a “new frontier of technology” and said more comprehensive vetting systems are needed.
"I just have grave privacy concerns for our residents and just can't support spending public dollars on this kind of technology," she said.
The City Council ultimately approved more than $37,000 for Clearview AI’s facial comparison analysis through July of next year.
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