Clearview AI Used Your Face. Now You May Get a Stake in the Company.

A facial recognition start-up accused of invasion of privacy has agreed to a settlement in a class-action lawsuit. Instead of cash payments, the settlement offers a 23 percent stake in the company to Americans whose faces are in its database. The start-up, Clearview AI, scraped photos from various social media sites to develop a facial recognition app used by law enforcement agencies. The lawsuits were consolidated in federal court in Chicago. The settlement aims to provide the class with a percentage of Clearview AI’s future value, potentially reaching $52 million. The class can choose to sell the stake or receive a portion of the company’s revenue.