Microsoft trumps Amazon in refusal to sell facial recognition software to police
Microsoft has become the third tech giant to declare a moratorium on selling its facial recognition software to police, as companies weigh in on the global debate surrounding the latter’s use of violence against communities of colour.
Though it does not currently sell its technology to police, Microsoft president Brad Smith said that it will continue to not do so until a national US law is in place “grounded in human rights” that governs its use.
Smith’s comments come three days after IBM said it would exit the business altogether, and a day after Amazon said it would cease the use of its facial recognition technology by police for one year.
“I think it’s important to see what IBM has done. I think it is important to recognise what Amazon has done. It is obviously similar to what we are doing,” Smith said in conversation with the Washington Post.
“But if all the responsible companies in the country cede this market to those that are not prepared to take a stand, we won’t necessarily serve the national interest or the lives of the black and African American people of this nation well. We need Congress to act, not just tech companies alone.”
The US House Committee on Oversight and Reform has held several hearings on the use of facial recognition software, but has yet to introduce a bill to regulate it.
The killing of George Floyd, a black man who died under the knee of a white police officer last month, has increased fears that facial recognition technology may be used unfairly against protesters.
Critics have pointed to a past study which showed Amazon’s Rekognition software struggled to identify the gender of individuals with darker skin, which Amazon later contested.