FTC Suing Match Group for Hindering Its Investigation Into Biometric Data Sharing

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is suing Match Group for hindering its investigation into OkCupid. The dating app, owned by Match, shared a user’s photo with facial recognition company Clarifai.

According to Bloomberg and BiometricUpdate.com, the FTC found that Clarifai was using the image without the user’s consent or knowledge, violating Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The government agency also said that it filed the lawsuit because its investigation was being “stonewalled by Match Group.” OkCupid originally shared the image with the AI company back in 2014.

OkCupid user Jordan Stein, whose image was shared without her knowledge or consent, brought a lawsuit against Clarifai as a result, but in March of last year, a judge ruled that Clarifai could not be sued for violating Illinois’ law because it was out of its jurisdiction. 

Shortly after the ruling, Clarifai joined the Data Ethics Consortium for Security as a gesture of goodwill. However, the FTC soon got involved and launched its own investigation into Clarifai’s practices, which led to the new lawsuit against Match Group.

The government agency says that OkCupid engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct by sharing biometric data with Clarifai. The lawsuit is against Match Group, not Clarifai, though if the courts rule in the agency’s favor, Biometric Update points out that it will have more far-reaching impacts on U.S. businesses and the sharing of data, and with AI companies like Clarifai in particular.

“Match produced some documents during the course of the FTC’s investigation,” the lawsuit reads, “but has withheld nearly every responsive internal communication based on improper and overbroad assertions of attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine.”

Facial biometric data is a murky area legally, since there is no federal regulation governing the use of facial recognition technology. Any legal recourse must be done at the state and local levels, which means companies don’t adhere to any specific compliancy program while operating globally. However, as Biometric Update points out, the FTC has started “aggressively policing” this type of technology, as there is so much inherent risk to users’ privacy. 

Just last month, another facial recognition company Clearview AI, settled a lawsuit with the ACLU to limit the sharing of its database of 20 billion facial photos, agreeing not to sell to most private companies in the U.S. However, they can still sell to federal and state agencies as part of the settlement, according to The New York Times. 

According to privacy experts, more regulation for these companies is coming.