A startup company took billions of photos from Facebook and other websites to create a facial-recognition database, and hundreds of law-enforcement agencies are using it

Get the Full StoryClearwater AI, a facial-recognition startup that scraped social media for images, has been adopted by at least 600 law-enforcement agencies, according to a New York Times report.

The software developers relied on current and former Republican officials to sell the software to law-enforcement agencies.

The agencies reportedly have little information about the origin of Clearwater AI, which likely violated policies of sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to create its database of billions of photos.

There has been growing concern among law enforcement's use of facial-recognition technologies, particularly over fears the tools have a racial bias.

A facial-recognition startup is being used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies in the US to solve crimes, but little is known about the software, particularly among the law enforcement community, according to a Saturday report.

Per The New York Times, the software Clearview AI is a collaboration between Hoan Ton-That, an Australian native who moved to the US in 2007, and Richard Schwartz, a former aide to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.See the rest of the story at Business InsiderNOW WATCH: 5 facts about the animal kingdom that Golden Globe-nominated 'The Lion King' ignoredSee Also:Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri says an episode of 'Black Mirror' inspired the decision to test hiding likesThe best cotton sheets27 sweet Valentine's Day gifts you can get on Amazon

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