The police force says some officers with units investigating child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, cyber crime as well as the digital forensics division, had accessed “a free online trial version” of the application since December but were later told to discontinue using it.
The technology was mostly used to identify victims, the OPP said in a statement on Sunday.
In one case, “following further investigation, a suspect was identified and charged with child pornography-related offences.”
“Other testing of the tool was limited to members entering their own images to assess the viability of the software.”
The OPP is one of several law enforcement agencies that recently revealed use of the technology. The RCMP, along with police in Toronto, Halifax, Hamilton and Edmonton, have said that officers have used or tested the software.
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2:20 Toronto police use of Clearview AI raises privacy concerns
Toronto police use of Clearview AI raises privacy concerns
Clearview AI has come under fire over privacy concerns. The technology allows for the collection of billions of images from public websites and social media sites that can help police forces and financial institutions identify individuals.
A New York Times investigation earlier this year revealed the software had scraped more than three billion photos from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to create a database used by more than 600 law enforcement agencies in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere.
The federal privacy commissioner, along with his counterparts in B.C., Alberta and Quebec, is launching an investigation of the software’s use in Canada.
The OPP says it learned the officers were using the software as a result of an internal review that was launched following a media inquiry. At the time, the police force acknowledged using facial recognition software but did not confirm officers had accessed Clearview AI.
Officers availed of the online trial after attending a conference, according to the OPP. The testing did not occur as part of the force’s usual evaluation process.
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“Upon learning that some members had commenced testing of the tool through a free trial, the OPP ordered immediate cessation of testing and use of Clearview AI,” the police force said.
Last week, Clearview AI confirmed to media outlets that an unauthorized third party gained access to its list of clients.
1:59 3 Edmonton police officers accessed Clearview AI
3 Edmonton police officers accessed Clearview AI
The OPP said there is “no compromise or risk to the OPP network or infrastructure” as a result of the breach but said it would notify the Ontario privacy commissioner.
The police force also said it would disclose use of the software and any other facial recognition technology to the commissioner’s office.
“The use of technology to identify sexually exploited children and human trafficking victims is essential in our fight of these horrible crimes,” the OPP said.
“The OPP uses investigative tools and techniques in full compliance with the laws of Canada, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and where necessary, appropriate judicial processes.”
–With files from Andrew Russell, Global News and The Canadian Press
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
