Democrats Demand Info On Law Enforcement's Use of Amazon Facial Recognition Tool

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Hill: A group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Thursday saying that the company's previous explanations to Congress about its Rekognition software were inadequate. Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about the potential threat the technology poses to civil liberties in the hands of police. 'Facial recognition technology may one day serve as a useful tool for law enforcement officials working to protect the American public and keep us safe,' the letter reads. 'However, at this time, we have serious concerns that this type of product has significant accuracy issues, places disproportionate burdens on communities of color, and could stifle Americans' willingness to exercise their First Amendment rights in public.' In the letter on Thursday, the Democratic members requested that Amazon provide them with results from accuracy tests of the Rekognition software. They also asked again for information on their government clients and if they audited law enforcement's use of facial recognition to ensure that its not being employed in violation of civil rights law. 'Customer trust, privacy, and security are our top priorities at AWS,' Michael Punke, Amazon's vice president for global public policy, wrote in response. 'We have long been committed to working with federal and state legislatures to modernize outdated laws to enhance the privacy and security of our customers by preventing law enforcement from accessing data without a warrant.'

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