REUTERS Exclusive: The controversial facial recognition and AI startup is facing litigation issues and a deteriorating economic environment.

Clearview AI has reduced sales headcount this week while two senior executives appointed a year ago have departed amidst a churn in the company triggered by legal issues and potentially recessionary conditions in the economy. (Reuters)

According to Reuters, the developments indicate “instability” at Clearview, which has faced challenges surrounding privacy and personal data including for billions of facial images that it allegedly scraped from the web and social media. Regulators and privacy advocates have demanded it delete data and pay millions of dollars in fines.

Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That

According to Reuters, the lay-offs also included staff who worked with local law enforcement.

Chief Revenue Officer Chris Metaxis, and Chief Strategy Officer Devesh Ashra, both hired in May 2021, have also departed the company.

In a statement, Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That said the elimination of positions and organizational changes were intended to ensure financial security and growth.

“The strategy is designed to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs,” he said.

In April, Ton-That rubbished rumors that the company was up for sale.

He told AP that the company was contemplating a new line of business that would verify people’s identity using a “consent-based” approach, such ID checks being the “least controversial use case” of facial recognition.

However, Ton-That clarified that the new product would not involve its huge data base of 20 million images that were reserved for use by law enforcement.

Related Story: Clearview AI To Expand Its Vistas Beyond Law Enforcement