
[Full Article  ↗](https://techpolicy.press/the-first-amendment-should-protect-us-from-facial-recognition-technologies-not-the-other-way-around/)

Should the First Amendment allow facial recognition companies to scrape photos of you off the internet and train AI surveillance systems that law enforcement then uses [against](https://thehill.com/policy/technology/560805-watchdog-6-federal-agencies-used-facial-recognition-software-to-id-george/) [peaceful protestors](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/12/facial-recognition-ban/)? Clearview AI thinks so. In recent years, Clearview has faced [numerous](https://www.aclu.org/cases/aclu-v-clearview-ai) [lawsuits](https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/14/class-action-suit-against-clearview-ai-cites-illinois-law-that-cost-facebook-550m/) seeking to hold the company accountable for its [invasive facial recognition app](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/technology/clearview-privacy-facial-recognition.html). And in every one of the suits, the company has attempted to immunize itself from liability by arguing that its business model for developing and deploying its facial recognition technology is “speech” protected by the First Amendment.
 
But if courts were to accept this argument, it would be dangerous. Not only would it allow Clearview’s activities to go unchecked, but it would also create a major obstacle to regulating and protecting the public from the harms and risks of emerging AI technologies.


Knowing Legal Machines

The First Amendment Should Protect Us from Facial Recognition Technologies – Not the Other Way Around

Clearview AI Is Deploying a California Law Meant to Protect Activists From Bogus Lawsuits

Amici Brief of Science, Legal, and Technology Scholars in Renderos et al. v. Clearview AI, Inc. et al., No. RG21096898 (Superior Ct. Alameda County)

The Right of Publicity: A New Framework for Regulating Facial Recognition

Freedom of Information Laws and Access to Government Data in the Age of AI: Two Recent Cases

Comments of the Knowing Machines Research Project to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on Automated Worker Surveillance and Management

Tell the White House to Limit AI-Driven Worker Surveillance

Comments of the Knowing Machines Research Project to the Federal Trade Commission