Clarifai deletes 3 million photos that OkCupid provided to train facial recognition AI, report says

Clarifai, the AI platform known for its facial recognition technology, has taken the significant step of deleting 3 million user-uploaded photos that it received from the dating app OkCupid. This action comes in light of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which scrutinized the circumstances under which Clarifai obtained this data. Back in 2014, Clarifai allegedly requested data from OkCupid, whose executives were also investors in the AI company. The dating platform provided a substantial amount of photos along with demographic and location information. However, this data-sharing practice appears to conflict with OkCupid's own privacy policies, which prohibit such actions. In an email, Clarifai's founder Matthew Zeiler expressed excitement over the potential of OkCupid’s data, indicating a clear interest in the wealth of information available. Although the events transpired nearly a decade ago, the FTC only initiated an investigation in 2019, following a New York Times report that revealed Clarifai's usage of OkCupid photos to develop an AI system capable of estimating users' age, gender, and race based on their facial features. Recently, the FTC and OkCupid, now part of the Match Group, reached a settlement regarding the allegations. While neither OkCupid nor Match Group admitted to any wrongdoing, Clarifai's decision to delete the photos suggests that the company did indeed access this sensitive information. The FTC's findings also suggested that OkCupid and Match Group had deliberately hidden their actions since 2014 and attempted to hinder the investigation. In a notable outcome, the FTC has imposed a permanent prohibition on OkCupid and Match Group from misrepresenting or allowing others to misrepresent their data collection practices. This ruling underscores the agency's commitment to protecting consumer privacy, even as it lacks the authority to impose fines for first-time offenses of this nature.