NASA paid for access to Clearview AI’s “Investigator Tool + Cloud Database,” according to a set of procurement documents obtained by 404 Media under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Clearview is a controversial facial recognition company which was the first to cross the rubicon of allowing third parties to search for someone’s face and then link that to their online activity, such as their social media profiles. Since gaining attention at the start of the decade, its facial recognition tool, built on a massive database of scraped images, has become a staple in law enforcement and federal government agencies.
“Clearview AI is an OSINT [open source intelligence] platform used to aid in the identification and investigations of persons of interest, by allowing users to search its database of 50+ billion facial images sourced from public-only web sources, including news media, mugshot websites, public social media, & many other open sources,” one part of the documents reads. 404 Media previously reported NASA’s purchase of the technology, but previously cited procurement records only said the agency bought a “Clearview AI license.”
“It is the largest known public only database of its kind and provides high level security and auditing functions better than other platforms. Clearview AI is the only technology platform available in the U.S. that offers its unique combination of web crawling and facial recognition capabilities while being in full compliance with data privacy laws,” the documents continue.
The documents, while detailing the process of NASA buying the technology, do not explicitly say why NASA believes it needs that technology.
Previously, NASA told 404 Media that that license was purchased on behalf of the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). OIGs are bodies that investigate fraud and waste inside the U.S. government. NASA’s OIG also investigates “allegations of crime, cyber-crime, fraud, abuse, and misconduct having an impact on NASA programs, personnel, and resources,” according to the OIG’s website. The OIG previously said it had no comment on its purchase of Clearview’s technology.
You can read the obtained documents here.
