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The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, or AP) fined Clearview AI Inc. €30.5 million in a decision dated 16 May 2024, finding that the company had violated several GDPR requirements while operating its facial-recognition service. The $33.7 million figure in contemporaneous coverage was a reported dollar equivalent, not a fixed conversion. The decision also imposed four orders intended to end continuing violations; whether those orders or the fine were later enforced or challenged is not established by the available reporting.
What the Dutch regulator decided
The AP’s decision concerned Clearview’s “Clearview for law-enforcement and public defenders” service. In its official summary published on 3 September 2024, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) said the AP imposed a €30.5 million fine and four orders backed by penalties for non-compliance, intended to stop ongoing violations. The decision itself is dated 16 May 2024. EDPB summary of the decision.
Associated Press coverage used $33.7 million as the contemporaneous dollar equivalent. The euro amount is the fine imposed; the dollar figure should be read as a conversion reported at the time, not as a current exchange-rate value. Associated Press report republished by CityNews Halifax.
Which GDPR obligations the AP said Clearview breached
The EDPB summary identifies the AP’s findings under GDPR Articles 5, 6, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 27. These were findings about Clearview’s processing for the specified service, not a general ruling that every use of facial recognition is unlawful.
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- No legal basis: The AP found that Clearview processed personal data of people in the Netherlands without a lawful basis.
- Biometric data: It found that Clearview processed biometric data contrary to GDPR Article 9.
- Insufficient transparency: The AP said the company did not adequately inform people whose data it processed.
- Access rights: The company failed to respond to two access requests and did not adequately facilitate people’s access rights.
- EU representative: The AP found that Clearview had not appointed a representative required under the GDPR.
The AP characterized Clearview’s face database as an “illegal database,” according to Associated Press coverage. That phrase is the regulator’s characterization as reported by AP, rather than a separate court ruling.
Fine, compliance orders and additional penalties
The €30.5 million fine is distinct from the four orders requiring Clearview to end continuing violations. Associated Press reported at the time that non-compliance could bring up to a further €5.1 million in penalties. The EDPB summary confirms four penalty-backed orders but does not state that additional total. The reported €5.1 million is therefore a potential additional amount, not part of the base fine or evidence that penalties were imposed.
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What was said about appeal and enforcement
At the time of its announcement, the AP said Clearview had not objected to the decision and therefore could not appeal the fine, according to the regulator’s contemporaneous report. That statement describes the AP’s position then; it does not establish whether Clearview later challenged the decision through another route, whether the fine was collected, or whether the orders were enforced. The cited reporting does not resolve those later procedural and collection questions.
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