Media Advisory

Release of the Privacy Commissioner’s Special Report to Parliament on Police Use of Facial Recognition Technology in Canada

GATINEAU – The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC)’s Special Report to Parliament related to an investigation under the Privacy Act of the RCMP’s use of Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology will be posted on the OPC website on Thursday, June 10, 2021 at approximately 9:30 a.m. ET.

Clearview AI is a technology company that was itself the subject of a previous investigation by the OPC, the results of which were published in February 2021.

The Special Report will also include draft privacy guidance on the use of facial recognition for police agencies. A joint initiative by the OPC and its provincial and territorial counterparts, the draft guidance will seek to clarify police agencies’ privacy obligations relating to the use of facial recognition technology. The OPC will be consulting with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders before finalizing the guidance.

Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien will hold a news conference to discuss the Special Report.

News conference details

Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021

Time: 11:00 a.m. ET

Where: by teleconference

Call-in information: Accredited journalists may call to join the news conference. For that number, please email communications@priv.gc.ca. (This line is available to media only.)