February 13, 2026
Smile, you’re in the database
CBP Signs Clearview AI Deal to Use Face Recognition for 'Tactical Targeting'
CBP buys Clearview to scan faces from billions of scraped pics — commenters: 'We warned you'
TLDR: CBP bought a year of Clearview AI face search built on billions of scraped photos, igniting fears of routine surveillance. Commenters blast the “buy, don’t build” loophole, question the AI buzz, and point to a new Senate bill seeking to ban this tech for immigration agencies.
CBP is cutting a $225,000 check for a year of Clearview AI face search, giving Border Patrol intel units and the National Targeting Center the power to compare photos against “60+ billion” images scraped from the internet. The thread immediately went full dystopia. One longtime commenter sighed that critics “were ridiculed” for warning this would end up in government hands—and here we are. Many read “tactical targeting” as code for everyday surveillance, not rare cases. With Homeland Security already under fire for face scans far beyond the border, commenters want simple answers: Will US citizens be searched? How long are uploads kept? Crickets from CBP.
The spiciest take: the government doesn’t need to build a mega-database if it can just buy one. “Easier to avoid the law and buy off the shelf,” one user snaps, accusing agencies of outsourcing legal risk. Another mocks the buzzword bingo: “Didn’t we already have facial recognition? Why does slapping AI on it make it okay?” Meanwhile, an archive link appears like a mic drop, and a lone voice cheers that Wired still writes bangers. In Congress, Senator Ed Markey just dropped a bill to ban ICE and CBP from using face recognition—setting up a classic privacy-vs-security showdown where the comments are already choosing sides
Key Points
- •CBP will pay $225,000 for one year of access to Clearview AI’s face recognition tool.
- •Access extends to Border Patrol’s headquarters intelligence division and the National Targeting Center for tactical targeting and strategic counter-network analysis.
- •Clearview claims a database of over 60 billion publicly available images scraped from the internet.
- •The agreement anticipates handling biometric data and requires NDAs but does not specify what images can be uploaded, whether searches include U.S. citizens, or retention periods.
- •DHS’s AI inventory links a CBP pilot (Oct 2025) involving Clearview to the Traveler Verification System, though CBP privacy docs say TVS does not use commercial data; Clearview may be tied instead to the Automated Targeting System. Additionally, a bill by Sen. Ed Markey seeks to bar ICE and CBP from using facial recognition.