City officials hit the brakes on the approval of an extended contract with a surveillance database that city officials use to investigate individuals.
The Thomson Reuters CLEAR service compiles public and corporate data on individuals for use in criminal, property and financial investigations. The city is considering adding $320,000 to an existing contract for the technology.
“It's common software, but this contract appears to be adding search tools for law enforcement that integrate all kinds of data, including license plate data and lots of other sorts of pieces,” said Councilmember Sarah Parady, who proposed to postpone the vote. “I didn't notice that coming through [the city council’s] committee because of the title. So I just want to get more information about that, given other conversations that we're having.”
The database service has come under scrutiny in the past for its use by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It’s also faced lawsuits regarding how it collects data about individuals in California.
The service is run by West Publishing Corporation. Thomson Reuters CLEAR is not related to the CLEAR identity verification service used at many airports and public venues.
A class action lawsuit over selling private data
The Thomson Reuters service was the subject of a 2020 California class action lawsuit that accused the company of selling people’s private data, including social media profiles and information collected by corporations, without their consent and without paying them.
“Thomson Reuters sells detailed dossiers on Californians across the state, people who have no idea their personal information is being appropriated, aggregated, and sold over the internet,” the claim stated.
The suit argued the company was violating California’s common law right of publicity that allows residents to determine how their information is shared. The lawsuit was settled in 2024. Plaintiffs received $5,000 each, and the company limited how the technology could be used in California, though it did not concede to doing anything wrong.
How involved is ICE?
The Washington Post has reported that the database has been used in Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations.
Denver currently uses the service in missing person cases, serial sex assault investigations, non-compliant property ownership, and extortion cases. The city also uses it to determine relationships, business ownership, and more.
City officials say the use of the service streamlines their work.
“The loss of this tool would create inefficiencies and challenges in the daily work of these agencies,” the city wrote in documents to the council. “It is reported that the CLEAR service, in comparison to other tools, is more accurate. Additionally, agencies report that the CLEAR system streamlines their work and is the only access to obtain crucial information to perform the requirements of their jobs which is otherwise not readily available outside of the CLEAR system.”
The service has downplayed its potential usage in immigration enforcement.
“CLEAR does not contain data about a person’s immigration or employment eligibility status,” according to its website. “It is not designed for use for mass illegal immigration inquiries or for deporting non-criminal undocumented persons and non-citizens.”
ICE does not have a contract with Thomson Reuters CLEAR, but some departments in the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s umbrella organization, use the technology, according to the company.
“Various agencies within DHS engage Thomson Reuters to support their investigations involving terrorism activities, national security and public safety cases, narcotics smuggling, organized crime, and transnational gang activity,” states the Thomson Reuters CLEAR website.
Search warrants are not required to use Thomson Reuters CLEAR data, but the company maintains that it does not include data that would require a warrant to access.
“Examples of the types of data CLEAR does not contain include utility or telecommunications account information, bank or credit account financial information, insurance claims, internet search history, phone call logs, credit histories, health records, employment history, precise geolocation data, cell phone GPS tracking, immigration status, employment eligibility status, and non-U.S. resident information,” according to the Thomson Reuters CLEAR website.
The city council was asked to extend the contract through June 30, 2026.
Council postponed the vote.
Parady used her privilege to push the vote back so that members could more closely consider the contract.
This was the latest action council members have taken to slow down a technology contract used by law enforcement in investigations.
Parady is also leading an effort to block the city’s use of Flock license plate surveillance technology. Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration says the cameras have curbed car theft, but critics have raised constitutional issues and concerns about how federal agencies can use the data.
Denver does have limits on how Thomson Reuters CLEAR can be used by the city.
Users have to sign and check an agreement explaining how the database can – and can’t – be used. Agencies decide who gets access and who loses it.
