Amazon Suspends Providing Facial Recognition Technology to US Police for One Year

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Amazon has decided not to provide its facial recognition technology to U.S. police for one year. This move is seen as a response to growing criticism that police misuse facial recognition technology amid widespread racial discrimination protests.

According to CNBC on the 10th (local time), Amazon stated in a press release, "We will not provide facial recognition technology to the police for one year," adding, "There is a need for the government to implement stronger regulations to control the ethical use of facial recognition technology." They further said, "We hope that the one-year moratorium will give Congress enough time to establish appropriate regulations for facial recognition technology."

In the U.S., following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died due to excessive police force, racial discrimination protests have spread, leading to increased criticism of facial recognition technology, especially from civic groups.

Earlier, more than 40 U.S. civic organizations sent a letter to developers including Amazon, stating, "The facial recognition technology provided to the police is mainly applied to Black communities, raising concerns about racial discrimination and violations of personal rights. Stop selling to the police."

IBM also decided on the 8th to completely withdraw from the facial recognition technology business and declared that it will no longer develop the technology. The facial recognition technology market is expected to shrink significantly for some time. Previously, U.S. market research firm MarketsandMarkets projected that the facial recognition technology market size would grow from $3.1 billion (about 3.9 trillion KRW) last year to $7 billion in five years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.