FILE - Hoan Ton-That, CEO of Clearview AI, demonstrates the company’s facial recognition software using a photo of himself in New York on Tuesday, F

Facial recognition startup Clearview AI settles privacy suit

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2024-06-23 00:30:02

FILE - Hoan Ton-That, CEO of Clearview AI, demonstrates the company’s facial recognition software using a photo of himself in New York on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Facial recognition startup Clearview AI has reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging its massive collection of images violated the subjects’ privacy rights. Attorneys estimate the deal could be worth more than $50 million. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — Facial recognition startup Clearview AI reached a settlement Friday in an Illinois lawsuit alleging its massive photographic collection of faces violated the subjects’ privacy rights, a deal that attorneys estimate could be worth more than $50 million.

But the unique agreement gives plaintiffs in the federal suit a share of the company’s potential value, rather than a traditional payout. Attorneys’ fees estimated at $20 million also would come out of the settlement amount.

The case consolidated lawsuits from around the U.S. filed against Clearview, which pulled photos from social media and elsewhere on the internet to create a database it sold to businesses, individuals and government entities.