Austrian Privacy Group Files Criminal Complaint Against Clearview AI Over EU Data Violations
VIENNA, Oct 28 – Austrian privacy organization noyb announced on Tuesday that it has filed a criminal complaint in Austria against U.S.-based Clearview AI, accusing the company of illegally collecting photos and videos of European Union residents to build its facial-recognition database.
Noyb stated that Clearview AI’s practices violate the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and under Austria’s criminal law, such violations could expose Clearview and its executives to personal liability, including potential imprisonment.
Clearview, which primarily markets its tools to law enforcement agencies and claims to have collected over 60 billion images globally, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company has previously faced GDPR enforcement actions in France, Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands, resulting in cumulative fines of nearly €100 million ($116.6 million). It also settled a U.S. class-action lawsuit in March over data-scraping practices.
In the UK, Clearview is contesting a £7.5 million fine, arguing that its operations, targeting foreign law enforcement clients, fall outside British jurisdiction. In October, a UK court dismissed the company’s first appeal, ruling that its service is used to identify individuals and analyze behavior to prevent crime, thus falling under UK GDPR. The case will return to a lower tribunal, with the company retaining the right to appeal the jurisdiction decision.
Led by privacy lawyer Max Schrems, noyb emphasized that Clearview has ignored EU rulings, claiming it has no EU establishment and has not paid the fines imposed. The Austrian complaint aims to test whether criminal enforcement can succeed where administrative penalties have struggled.
Austria has criminalized certain GDPR violations, and if prosecutors accept the case, it could set a precedent for criminal enforcement of data-protection laws and increase scrutiny on non-EU companies processing Europeans’ biometric data.
“Clearview AI amassed a global database of photos and biometric data, which makes it possible to identify people within seconds,” Schrems said. “Such power is extremely concerning and undermines the idea of a free society, where surveillance is the exception instead of the rule.”
