Our global security efforts

What are Thomson Reuters investigative solutions designed for?

Our investigative and research solutions, such as CLEAR, are designed for use by authorized customers in law enforcement, government, corporate and legal markets. Approved use cases include fraud prevention and detection, legal research, business due diligence, regulatory compliance, and civil and criminal investigations such as money laundering, human trafficking, and drug and weapons smuggling.

CLEAR leverages key private and public records with its proprietary technology to help customers with their investigative processes. CLEAR enables them to quickly identify potential risks associated with people and businesses to determine if further analysis is needed.

Who can access CLEAR or similar investigative solutions?

These products may only be accessed by authorized businesses, government, and law enforcement entities after they have been carefully vetted to ensure that they are a legitimate business/government entity, with a permitted use case and a demonstrated permissible use under applicable statutes. These products are not accessible by consumers or the general public. 

Are Thomson Reuters investigative solutions such as CLEAR used by government customers to track and deport non-criminal undocumented persons in the United States?  

The CLEAR tool promotes public safety. It is not intended for use in preventing legal immigration nor is it used to remove persons from the U.S. unless they pose a serious threat to public safety. 

Law enforcement and other government agencies use CLEAR for many investigative purposes, for example, it is used to conduct criminal investigations and protect communities.

CLEAR does not contain data related to immigration or employment status. The product was not designed for use for mass illegal immigration inquiries or for deporting undocumented persons and non-citizens.

Does the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have a contract with Thomson Reuters designed to track and deport undocumented persons in the United States? 

CLEAR does not contain data related to immigration or employment status. The product was not designed to be used for mass illegal immigration inquiries. It is not intended for use in tracking and deporting undocumented persons and non-citizens.

Thomson Reuters is engaged by DHS-ICE to support the agency’s investigations involving terrorism activities, national security and public safety cases, narcotics smuggling, organized crime, transnational gang activity, child exploitation, human smuggling and trafficking, illegal exports of controlled technology and weapons, money laundering, financial fraud, cybercrime and intellectual property theft. 

Is a search warrant needed to access Thomson Reuters investigative solutions such as CLEAR?

CLEAR does not contain data that requires a search warrant to access, such as geolocation data from cell phones. Our customers are required to use the product in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, and the data in CLEAR is collected and provided in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.   

What other contracts does Thomson Reuters have with the Department of Homeland Security?

Thomson Reuters is engaged by the Department of Homeland Security on a variety of matters to support DHS activities related to terrorism, national security and public safety cases, narcotics smuggling, organized crime, transnational gang activity, child exploitation, human smuggling and trafficking, illegal exports of controlled technology and weapons, money laundering, financial fraud, cybercrime, and intellectual property theft.  

• An example of our efforts occurred during the Miami Super Bowl. Our work with ICE assisted law enforcement officials in saving over 20 human trafficking victims.  Our data analysts worked out of the Super Bowl trafficking command center and monitored suspicious communications, analyzed data, identified red flags and merged that information with intelligence from other agencies to help save these victims.

Is Thomson Reuters in the surveillance business?  

No. Thomson Reuters licenses and acquires data from a variety of sources including government agencies, publicly available information, and privately aggregated data. This data is compiled in such a way as to provide a holistic view of a data subject, but Thomson Reuters does not provide surveillance services.

Can you provide other examples of how Thomson Reuters investigative solutions combat threats and protects communities?

Our solutions play an important role in mitigating risk, preventing fraud, keeping our communities safe, finding missing and sexually exploited children, combating money laundering, drug and weapon smuggling, and human trafficking. 

Please visit our Everyday Heroes website for more stories about how our products help keep our communities, businesses, and individuals safe from crime, fraud, and harm.   

What types of data are contained in Thomson Reuters investigative solutions? 

Our solutions contain data made available by government agencies such as court records and real estate property records; publicly available information such as white pages information; and privately aggregated data such as business directories. 

What types of data are not contained in Thomson Reuters investigative solutions such as CLEAR?

Examples of the types of data that are not contained in our investigative solutions include: utility or telecommunications account information, bank or credit account information, insurance claims, cell phone contracts, credit histories, employment history, live cell phone records, GPS Tracking data, immigration status, employment status, and non-U.S. residents. Thomson Reuters actively filters out data pertaining to minors. 

Can CLEAR be used for consumer eligibility determinations?

CLEAR is not a consumer reporting tool and the use of this product or its data for consumer eligibility purposes is strictly prohibited. Some prohibited consumer eligibility purposes include employment eligibility, granting credit, housing determinations, government benefit eligibility, consumer insurance underwriting, and other permissible purposes covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.   

How do you ensure customers use data in Thomson Reuters investigative solutions such as CLEAR in compliance with applicable legislation?  

We take seriously the legality and legitimacy with which our investigative solutions are used, including with respect to individual privacy rights. We have a robust compliance program that governs the customer lifecycle to ensure that only legitimate entities that have certified their permissible use under applicable statutes have access to CLEAR.  This program includes customer vetting, customer credentialing and validation, investigations of any allegations of misuse, and ongoing education.  

Substantiated product misuse is remediated in a timely manner and could include product access termination.  

What steps does Thomson Reuters take to ensure its business practices do not infringe on the human rights of individuals?

Thomson Reuters is dedicated to upholding the rights of individuals, which is demonstrated in a variety of ways, including the following:  

• Thomson Reuters has policies and procedures that reinforce the company’s commitment to human rights, such as the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Supply Chain Ethical Code, supplier onboarding and due diligence processes and the Modern Slavery Transparency Statement. We actively review best practices for identifying and mitigating human rights risks.
• Thomson Reuters is aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which augments our longstanding commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights and other international standards. The UNGPs are the global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity, and they provide the internationally accepted framework for enhancing standards and practices with regard to business and human rights.
• Thomson Reuters has established Board and senior management-level oversight of Environmental, Social and Governance matters, including human rights. We believe that integrating ESG into our business strategy and operations enhances our efforts to drive our business and the interests of our stakeholders.
• We run our business with purpose - advancing our sustainability goals, fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, and making a difference in communities through our people, products and partnerships, pursuing justice, truth, and transparency. This work is outlined in our annual Social Impact & ESG Report.