Rogue NYPD cops are using facial recognition app Clearview

Rogue NYPD officers are using a sketchy facial-recognition software that it’s own facial recognition unit doesn’t want to touch because of concerns about security and potential for abuse, The Post has learned. Clearview AI, which has scraped millions of photos from social media and other public sources for its facial recognition program — earning a cease-and-desist order from Twitter — has been pitching itself to law enforcement organizations across the country, including to the NYPD. The department’s facial-recognition unit tried out the app in early 2019 as part of a complimentary 90-day trial but ultimately passed on it, citing a variety of concerns.

Those include app creator Hoan Ton-That’s ties to viddyho.com, which was involved in a widespread phishing scam in 2009, according to police sources and reports. The NYPD was also concerned because Clearview could not say who had access to images once police loaded them into the company’s massive database, sources said.

Source: nypost.com