The US Department of Homeland Security and Clearview AI has signed a contract to allow the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency access to its technology, which has been highly controversial over the past few years. Clearview AI has received criticism for its development of facial recognition technology used by law enforcement agencies that contain critical biases against race and suspected biases against gender. Last week, Tech Inquiry notified the public of the documents, which is uncovered as part of its work as a non-profit technology watchdog.
Although it remains unclear what role Clearview AI’s technology will play in ICE operations, the contract will last until September 4, 2021, and allows the agency access to information technology components. Tech Inquiry has since issued a Freedom of Information Act that requests access to the contracts and communication between the two entities. ICE allegedly received four bids for the contract and Clearview AI was selected to provide the agency with its services. The contract has received attention due to the risks it poses to immigration services, as ICE has been under fire for child containment and 17 detainee deaths this year.
Read More: Controversial facial recognition tech firm Clearview AI inks deal with ICE
