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Amazon Announces One-Year Moratorium on Police Use of Facial Recognition Software
Amazon has announced that it will halt police use of its facial recognition technology, Amazon Rekognition, for one year.
“We’re implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of Amazon’s facial recognition technology,” the company said in a blog post.
The company will, however, continue to allow a select few organizations to use it. These organizations specialize in rescuing human trafficking victims and reuniting missing children with their families.
“We will continue to allow organizations like Thorn, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Marinus Analytics to use Amazon Rekognition to help rescue human trafficking victims and reunite missing children with their families,” the blog post then added.
Amazon is putting a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition software, a major reversal of its long-time defense of law enforcement's use of the technology https://t.co/KryGpsQ7GR pic.twitter.com/Lpk4za4Kzf
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 11, 2020
Fox Business also noted that this announcement comes days after IBM's announcement. The tech giant has stopped offering facial recognition or analysis software.
“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,” the blog post also mentioned. “We hope this one-year moratorium might give Congress enough time to implement appropriate rules, and we stand ready to help if requested,” it then added.
According to Fox Business, the company stock closed at $2,647.45 per share. This went up nearly 2 percent at the end of Wednesday's trading session.
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