The B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed a bid by U.S. facial recognition firm Clearview AI to overturn findings that the company is subject to Canadian privacy laws, despite no longer doing business in the country.

The ruling released this week says Clearview AI was investigated by the information and privacy commissioners of B.C., Alberta, Québec and Canada after it began marketing its facial recognition services to Canadian clients in 2020.

It said the investigation found the company had violated provincial and federal privacy laws, but Clearview withdrew from the Canadian market during the probe.

B.C.'s privacy commissioner ordered the company to stop offering its facial recognition services in 2021 and delete the information because it used images collected from residents without their consent.