Clearview AI, a provider of facial recognition software, has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and several other groups

The lawsuit, filed in Illinois state court, alleges that the company violated state privacy laws regarding the use of facial recognition and biometric technology

As reported by CNN, the formal court filing alleges that Clearview's technology violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act of 2008 According to the filing, the lawsuit against Clearview AI "puts a stop to the unlawful surreptitious capture and storage of millions of Illinois residents' sensitive biometric identifying information"

Court filings have been filed against the use of facial recognition technology, arguing that Clearview "will end privacy as we know it if it is not stopped"

It also states that "capturing and storing facial photos puts people at risk of data breaches and identity theft"

The application further states that Clearview AI technology "also leads to unwanted tracking and invasive surveillance by enabling instant identification of everyone at protests, political meetings, houses of worship, domestic violence shelters, and alcoholism meetings"

"Also, because the common link is an individual's face, mug shots can also be used to aggregate a myriad of additional facts about a person, gathered from social media and professional profiles, photos posted by others, and government IDs"

This is not the first time Clearview AI has been criticized for privacy concerns; in January, the New York Times reported that Clearview AI failed to get permission from individuals when it used over 3 billion social media and web images to improve its facial recognition system It reported

According to VentureBeat, Clearview AI's technology is used by more than 2,900 organizations, including large corporations such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy and law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Interpol