Amazon today announced that it would suspend police use of Amazon Rekognition’s facial recognition technology, Amazon Rekognition, for a period of one year. This announcement comes amid ongoing protests against police brutality. It will be available to other organizations.
This service automates image and video analysis using machine learning technology. Rekognition’s website states that it also offers facial analysis and facial search capabilities. These can be used to detect, analyze and compare faces for a variety of purposes, including user verification, people counting and public safety.
Many police departments use the technology, as numerous media outlets, including Business Insider and The Washington Post, have reported.
Amazon today announced the police moratorium in a brief blog post (June 10). It did not mention the ongoing protests that were sparked by George Floyd’s May 25th death. This led to four Minneapolis police officers being taken into custody.
Amazon stated that it will continue to allow organizations such as Thorn, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Marinus Analytics to use Amazon Rekognition in order to rescue victims of human trafficking and reunite missing children with their families.
“We have advocated for stronger regulations to govern ethical use of facial recognition technology by governments, and Congress seems ready to tackle this challenge. We hope that Congress will have enough time to put in place appropriate rules after the one-year moratorium. If necessary, we are available to assist.
Two days prior to today’s post, the Congressional Democrats released legislation for police reform.
Amazon imposes a 1-year moratorium on police use of facial recognition tech
