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Amazon Clarifies No Violation of Facial Recognition Moratorium Following DOJ Disclosure¶
Amazon Responds to DOJ Disclosure: No Violation of Facial Recognition Moratorium¶
Following reporting by FedScoop, Amazon stated that the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) disclosure about the FBI beginning to use its Rekognition tool does not signify a violation of its moratorium on facial recognition.
Amazon Defends Against Allegations¶
Amazon responded to queries directed towards the recent DOJ’s disclosure that the FBI is in the “initiation” phase of employing Amazon’s Rekognition tool for a project named, “Project Tyr”. Amazon asserts that this disclosure does not imply that the FBI is violating Amazon’s self-imposed moratorium on police use of its Rekognition software.
Amazon’s Moratorium on Rekognition¶
In June 2020, Amazon had put a temporary halt on the use of its face comparison feature of its Rekognition software by police departments during criminal investigations. Recent doubts have been cast over how this moratorium applies to federal law enforcement, which prompted Amazon’s clarifying statement.
Amazon’s Stance on Facial Recognition Regulation¶
Amazon encourages governments to formulate regulations guiding the ethical use of facial recognition technology and has expressed readiness to contribute towards shaping these rules.
Conclusion¶
This incident puts into focus the challenges involved in regulating and controlling the use of AI technologies such as facial recognition, especially where law enforcement is concerned. For more details, refer to the original FedScoop article .