Clearview AI agrees to restrict US sales of facial recognition mostly to law enforcement

Clearview AI, a controversial facial-recognition software company, agreed on Monday that it will not sell its software to most companies in the United States — a decision that will largely restrict its use to law-enforcement agencies in the country.

The agreement is part of a settlement of a lawsuit that was filed against the company in Illinois state court two years ago by the American Civil Liberties Union and several other nonprofits.

New York-based Clearview also agreed under the settl ement that it will not offer free trials of its software to individual police officers without a sign-off from their superiors. Within Illinois itself, Clearview is barred for five years from selling its software, including to state or local law enforcement agencies, according to the agreement.