Amazon, Law Enforcement, and Facial Recognition
While many of us are aware that facial recognition technologies are in development, not as many of us are aware of who is actually using them. This is because the modern surveillance landscape is still being defined. We can think of a number of applications for facial recognition software that could make our lives better off. One of the most unique examples I have come across is an app by Listerine, yes the mouthwash company. Listerine’s app is able to provide feedback to blind individuals by vibrating a smartwatch in order to let them know if someone is smiling at them. Applications like this can obviously improve our daily lives. However, without ethical guidelines facial recognition technology could easily become one of the largest threats to our freedom and privacy.
The Trade-Off of Surveillance
Amazon is one company in particular whose technology and tactics are being called out by others like the ACLU to be monitored and analyzed. The reason for this outcry is due to Amazon actively marketing their facial recognition software, Rekognition, to law enforcement and other government agencies. Rekognition can be used to identify and track individuals in real-time, up 100 people in a single image frame. The tech company is also offering to help law enforcement deploy their new technology.
The issues raised by organizations like the ACLU and even companies like Microsoft is due to the lack of federal regulation and explicit authorization of this technology’s use. These parties believe there has not been enough discussion on law enforcement’s use of facial recognition software, and believe companies like Amazon should stop their sale of this technology until these discussions have been had. In June the ACLU actually delivered a petition with more than 150,000 signatures to Amazon, among employee protests and letters calling for Amazon leadership to stop the sell of their software to law enforcement.
Law Enforcement prepares for Rekognition
One organization caught in the middle of this argument is the Orlando Police Department. Orlando PD began using Rekognition around May of this year, and stopped the program after public complaints about the program. However, the department now plans to restart the controversial program with the help of Amazon’s freely offered consultation services. Since Amazon lets potential agencies pilot this program without actually purchasing the software, we are unaware of how many other organizations are piloting this technology. One other organization we know partnering with Amazon’s Rekognition is Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon. Washington County has actually been working with Amazon since 2017 to build a database of over 300,000 mug shot photos. Additionally, they are building an app for officers to match images obtained from other sources to this database.
Amazon’s official statements refute most this backlash primarily by stating that all Amazon products and services require customers to comply with the law. Additionally, that we cannot ban technologies because people may choose to abuse them. While these statements are able to shift the burden of responsibility from the software developer to the end-user, the problem still remains that there are no clear ethical guidelines on how we should use facial recognition. With law enforcement already beginning to pilot this software, those in opposition must demand change and regulation immediately.What do you think? Does the benefit of a more informed law enforcement outweigh our own personal privacy? Let’s start the discussion below!
