Apple bans Clearview AI's iPhone for violating its rules

Clearview AI's use of an enterprise certificate on an iPhone (Screenshot: TechCrunch)

Controversial facial recognition startup Clearview AI found its iPhone app banned from the Apple App Store. According to Apple, the startup "violated" the terms of Apple's enterprise developer program. 

Clearview AI was allowing users to get its app outside of the App Store through its enterprise certificate, which is against Apple's policies. The use of certificate access is for users within a company and not for members of the public.

The app allows users to use their phone camera or to upload a photo to search its database that has three billion photos. The startup claims it only serves law enforcement officers but has been found to cater to many private sector companies, such as Walmart and Macy's.

Clearview AI had been in the hot seat recently. It's been found to scrape public photos from social media sites, which drew the ire of big tech companies saying it misused their services. On top of that, the company has been hacked, and its client list was stolen.

Some police departments in Canada, including the RCMP, are Clearview AI clients. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada and several provincial commissioners are investigating the technology used by the company.

Source: TechCrunch + Mobile Syrup