Thea Traff

Clearview AI’s innovative facial-recognition tools—which scan a database of more than 3 billion images to identify people from photos—are used by thousands of U.S. police departments to pinpoint crime suspects; earlier this year, it helped authorities ID some of the U.S. Capitol rioters. But civil rights advocates fear abuses, with some groups and governments calling for a ban on the tools, whose use one Canadian official likened to “mass surveillance.” CEO Hoan Ton-That says the company is working with law enforcement to balance privacy and security.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com.

EDIT POST