Asia Tech Wire (Sep 4) -- The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) announced Tuesday that it has fined U.S. facial recognition company Clearview AI 30.5 million euros ($33.7 million).

The agency accused Clearview AI of illegally collecting billions of photos of faces, including Dutch people, for use in providing facial recognition services.

Founded in 2017, Clearview AI develops face recognition software that matches uploaded face images with personal information, leading to identity confirmation.

Hoan Ton-That, co-founder and CEO of Clearview AI, which has Vietnamese roots, had claimed in early 2023 that the company had 30 billion images.