Amazon pulls facial recognition

Amazon has banned police use of its facerecognition technology for a year, making it the latest tech giant to step back from law enforcement use of systems that have been criticized for incorrectly identifying people with darker skin.

The Seattle company did not say Wednesday why it took action now. Protests following the death of George Floyd have focused attention on racial injustice and how police use technology to track people.

Law enforcement agencies use facial recognition to identify suspects, but critics say it can be misused. A number of cities have banned its use by police and other government agencies, led by San Francisco last year.

On Tuesday, IBM said it would get out of the facial recognition business, noting concerns about how the technology can be used for mass surveillance and racial profiling.

Civil rights groups and Amazon’s employees have pushed the company to stop selling its technology, called Rekognition, to government agencies, saying that it could be used to invade people’s privacy and target minorities.

In a blog post, Amazon said that it hopes Congress would put in place stronger regulations for facial recognition.

“Amazon’s decision is an important symbolic step, but this doesn’t really change the face recognition landscape in the United States since it’s not a major player,” said Clare Garvie, a researcher at Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology. Her research found only two agencies using or testing Rekognition. The Washington County Sheriff ’s Office in Oregon has been the most public about using it. The Orlando police department tested it, but did not implement it, she said.