Amazon to pause police use of its facial recognition tool amid wave of protests

[ffr]

Source: Politico

The tech giant announced in a blog post it’s “implementing a one-year moratorium on police use” of the software, used by scores of law enforcement agencies around the country, but will continue to provide it to some organizations that deploy it to fight human trafficking. The move follows a more drastic action by rival IBM, which told Congress this week it’s getting out of the facial recognition business over concerns the technology can be used for mass surveillance and racial profiling.

“We’ve advocated that governments should put in place stronger regulations to govern the ethical use of facial recognition technology, and in recent days, Congress appears ready to take on this challenge,” Amazon said. “We hope this one-year moratorium might give Congress enough time to implement appropriate rules, and we stand ready to help if requested.”

Democratic lawmakers in recent weeks have voiced alarm over reports that local and federal authorities have deployed various tools, including facial recognition, to monitor those attending the racial justice protests rocking the country.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/10/amazon-facial-recognition-police-311930

[Rainbow Droid]

1. Translation: Oh fuck we might be liable for our actions. Legislate us some cover plsthxnfo.

"And we swear we had no idea the American Police had become the American Gestapo. It appeared suddenly, in just the last few weeks, and there was no forewarning or evidence that it might happen. There was likewise no way to predict that a century of documented and widespread police brutality might one day result in the entire police institution believing itself immune from consequences, regardless of its actions. There was no way to foresee that eventually police culture would be so confident it was above the law that torturing and murdering people in broad daylight in front of witnesses and cameras became not only normal to them, but desirable. We did not, and could not, have known."