Facial recognition developer Clearview AI has agreed to permanently stop selling its biometric database to private companies in the US.

The company made the decision as part of a two-year lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

In May 2020, human rights activists accused the startup of violating the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA). According to the document, companies must obtain permission before collecting data such as fingerprints, face and iris images. Otherwise, users have the right to take legal action.

“BIPA is designed to completely stop the kind of sweeping surveillance that the Clearview app allows. […] This should be a strong signal to other state legislatures,” said the ACLU, which was involved in the development of BIPA.

In addition to the nationwide ban on sales to individuals, Clearview will not offer its services to law enforcement in Illinois for five years. Federal agencies, out-of-state and local law enforcement will not be affected.

Also, Clearview should stop supporting the police’s free trial program, create an opt-out page for Illinois residents, and spend $50,000 to advertise it.

For a treaty to take effect, it must be approved by a federal judge.

Recall that in March the Italian regulator fined Clearview AI 20 million euros.

In December 2021, French authorities ordered the notorious enterprise to delete citizens’ data.

That same month, the UK fined Clearview AI $22.6 million for illegal data collection.