Amazon said Tuesday it is extending its ban on the use of its facial recognition tools for law enforcement, amid persistent concerns of bias in the technology.

The tech giant last June announced it was implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of its technology, saying the pause could give Congress time to enact safeguards against misuse of facial recognition.

The company confirmed Tuesday an extension of that ban "until further notice" without elaborating.

Last year's move came amid widespread protests over police brutality and concerns that facial recognition technology is flawed, especially in analyzing features of African Americans.

Activists also say the technology tools may use algorithms which discriminate, intentionally or not, against Black people.

Activists have targeted Amazon Web Services cloud computing unit's "Rekognition" facial recognition technology and Ring surveillance cameras used for home security. It was not clear the degree to which police have used the systems.

Amazon last year called for governments to put in place "stronger regulations to govern the ethical use of facial recognition technology."

Its ban was followed by Microsoft and IBM, which made similar announcements.

Last week, a coalition of activist groups called for Amazon to permanently stop selling its Rekognition system and on Tuesday said the company should commit to scrapping the system.

"Facial recognition technology is too dangerous for it to be implemented at the whims of corporations like Amazon," said Evan Greer of the activist group Fight for the Future, one of the groups in the coalition.

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Pentagon agrees to remove Xiaomi from blacklist
Washington (AFP) May 12, 2021
The US Defense Department has agreed to remove smartphone maker Xiaomi from its blacklist of companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party, according to a court filing released late Tuesday. Xiaomi sued the Pentagon and the US Treasury over the January 14 order from the administration of President Donald Trump including it with eight other Chinese companies whose securities Americans were forbidden from investing in. The move was part of escalating pressure placed on China tied to strategic and ... read more