Amazon Is Working With Police to Provide Facial Recognition Surveillance
6 years, 10 months ago

Amazon Is Working With Police to Provide Facial Recognition Surveillance

Slate  

Remember when Amazon mostly just sold books? According to public records obtained by American Civil Liberties Union, Amazon and Washington County built a mobile app for law enforcement to scan images against the county’s mugshot database on the go, too. On Amazon’s Rekognition customer page, Orlando’s police chief calls their relationship “a unique, first-of-it’s-kind public-private partnership,” in which Amazon’s technology “provide real-time detection and notification of persons-of-interests.” According to the public records obtained by the ACLU, Orlando’s police department has been a customer since 2017, when the company offered to build a proof-of-concept system that integrated the city’s camera system. Meanwhile, in Oregon, the ACLU’s documents show, Amazon offered to work directly with Washington County law enforcement to ensure that the facial recognition software met its needs. In previous promotional materials for Rekognition unearthed by the ACLU, Amazon recommends a use case in which the software is integrated with police body cameras: An image captured at the scene of a traffic stop or police questioning could be immediately scanned against a law enforcement database—say, of gang members—to find potential matches.

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History of this topic

Good governance of facial recognition devices can better protect personal data
4 months ago

Good governance of facial recognition devices can better protect personal data

China Daily  

As the 2024 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit unfolds in Wuzhen, a water town in East China's Zhejiang province, from November 19 to 22, with artificial intelligence as its centerpiece, the broader implications of emerging technologies, including facial recognition devices, demand attention. Given the grave threat the pandemic posed to people's health and life, the installation of facial recognition devices …

Good governance of facial recognition devices can better protect personal data
4 months ago

Good governance of facial recognition devices can better protect personal data

China Daily  

As the 2024 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit unfolds in Wuzhen, a water town in East China's Zhejiang province, from November 19 to 22, with artificial intelligence as its centerpiece, the broader implications of emerging technologies, including facial recognition devices, demand attention. Given the grave threat the pandemic posed to people's health and life, the installation of facial recognition devices …

MPs join campaign group’s call for facial recognition ban
1 year, 5 months ago

MPs join campaign group’s call for facial recognition ban

The Independent  

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy …

Government looking to expand use of facial recognition technology
1 year, 6 months ago

Government looking to expand use of facial recognition technology

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “It’s disturbing and deeply …

Australian retail giants and police using artificial intelligence software Auror to catch repeat shoplifters
1 year, 9 months ago

Australian retail giants and police using artificial intelligence software Auror to catch repeat shoplifters

ABC  

Artificial intelligence is now part of everyday life in the modern world, even if we don't always know when and where. "This information that's being captured by retailers isn't new, but they're just making it much easier to identify the repeat people who are targeting them," Mr Thomson says. ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan says police will be using …

AI company harvested billions of Facebook photos for a facial recognition database it sold to police
1 year, 11 months ago

AI company harvested billions of Facebook photos for a facial recognition database it sold to police

Salon  

Artificial intelligence is having a cultural moment. Clearview AI markets its facial recognition database to law enforcement "to investigate crimes, enhance public safety, and provide justice to victims," according to their website. Last week, CEO Hoan Ton-That said in an interview with BBC that the company obtained its photos without users' knowledge, scraped from social media platforms like Facebook and …

Editorial: Police body cams shouldn’t be surveillance tools
2 years, 9 months ago

Editorial: Police body cams shouldn’t be surveillance tools

LA Times  

Police body cameras and facial recognition technology serve two completely different purposes and shouldn’t be combined. Body cams record officer interactions with the public and make police less likely to fib about what they did or why, because they know there will be a reviewable recording. It infringes on privacy — with little benefit to public safety, because facial recognition …

Facebook to shut down face recognition for photo tagging
3 years, 4 months ago

Facebook to shut down face recognition for photo tagging

Hindustan Times  

Facebook, which has changed its company name to Meta, has announced plans to shut down the facial recognition system used to tag people in photos and videos posted on the platform for about a decade. “This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology’s history,” said Jerome Pesenti, Meta’s vice-president, artificial intelligence. Facebook …

Facebook pulls the plug on its facial recognition system, to delete faceprints of over a billion users
3 years, 4 months ago

Facebook pulls the plug on its facial recognition system, to delete faceprints of over a billion users

Firstpost  

More than a third of Facebook’s daily users had opted in to using the facial recognition system; concerns over privacy cited as the main reason for the shutdown. Facebook is shutting down its facial recognition system and deleting a billion faceprints, its parent company said Tuesday, in response to serious concerns over privacy. It was not clear when the changes …

Facebook to shut down facial recognition system and delete face print data of 1 billion users
3 years, 4 months ago

Facebook to shut down facial recognition system and delete face print data of 1 billion users

ABC  

Facebook will shut down its facial recognition system and delete the face prints of more than 1 billion people amid growing concerns about the technology and its misuse. Key points: The facial-recognition system automatically identifies users in photos and videos The changes will roll out worldwide in coming weeks and be completed by December Facebook did not rule out using …

Facebook to shut down face-recognition system, delete data
3 years, 4 months ago

Facebook to shut down face-recognition system, delete data

The Hindu  

Facebook said it will shut down its face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people. “This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology’s history,” said a blog post Tuesday from Jerome Pesenti, vice president of artificial intelligence for Facebook’s new parent company, Meta. “Its removal will result in …

Facebook is shutting down its facial recognition software
3 years, 4 months ago

Facebook is shutting down its facial recognition software

CNN  

CNN Business — Facebook said Tuesday it plans to stop using facial-recognition software that could automatically recognize people in photos and videos posted on the social network, marking a massive shift both for the tech industry and for a company known for collecting vast amounts of data about its billions of users. Pesenti wrote that the world’s largest social network …

Clearview AI Has New Tools to Identify You in Photos
3 years, 5 months ago

Clearview AI Has New Tools to Identify You in Photos

Wired  

Clearview AI has stoked controversy by scraping the web for photos and applying facial recognition to give police and others an unprecedented ability to peer into our lives. Clearview has collected billions of photos from across websites that include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and uses AI to identify a particular person in images. The company’s cofounder and CEO, Hoan Ton-That, …

Investors call for ethical approach to facial recognition technology
3 years, 9 months ago

Investors call for ethical approach to facial recognition technology

The Hindu  

A group of 50 investors managing more than $4.5 trillion in assets is calling on companies involved in the development and use of facial recognition technology, such as Amazon and Facebook, to do so in an ethical way. Human rights advocates say face recognition technology, which can be used to unlock smart phones or verify bank accounts, also has the …

Facial recognition company sued by California activists
4 years ago

Facial recognition company sued by California activists

Associated Press  

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Civil liberties activists are suing a company that provides facial recognition services to law enforcement agencies and private companies around the world, contending that Clearview AI illegally stockpiled data on 3 billion people without their knowledge or permission. The lawsuit says the company has built “the most dangerous” facial recognition database in the nation, has fielded requests …

U.S. lawmakers aim to curtail face recognition even as the technology IDs Capitol attackers
4 years, 2 months ago

U.S. lawmakers aim to curtail face recognition even as the technology IDs Capitol attackers

The Hindu  

U.S. lawmakers are moving ahead with efforts to ban facial recognition software even as the technology helps identify supporters of President Donald Trump who ransacked their workplace and forced them to evacuate this month. Sheldon said he provided the FBI possible names of several people in the violent mob thanks to a facial recognition program he purchased. Markey last year …

Tech companies say they want to see a nationwide facial recognition law
4 years, 9 months ago

Tech companies say they want to see a nationwide facial recognition law

CNN  

CNN — In a matter of days, there was a sea change with one of the most cutting-edge and controversial technologies in Silicon Valley. Three tech giants — Amazon, Microsoft and IBM — all said this week they will not sell facial recognition technology to police. Silicon Valley goes to Washington Tech companies have seized opportunities where they can in …

Amazon implements a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition software
4 years, 9 months ago

Amazon implements a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition software

Firstpost  

Amazon says it has pushed for regulations to ensure the software was used ethically. Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday said it was implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition software, halting a business it long defended as many protested law enforcement brutality against people of color. “We hope this one-year moratorium might give Congress enough time to …

Microsoft joins Amazon in banning face-recognition technology sales to police
4 years, 9 months ago

Microsoft joins Amazon in banning face-recognition technology sales to police

The Hindu  

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it would await federal regulation before selling facial recognition technology to police, making it the latest big firm to back away from the business following protests against law enforcement brutality and bias. The announcement came shortly after rival Amazon.com Inc declared it was pausing police use of its “Rekognition" service for a year and International …

Microsoft joins Amazon, IBM in pausing face scans for police
4 years, 9 months ago

Microsoft joins Amazon, IBM in pausing face scans for police

Associated Press  

Microsoft has become the third big tech company this week to say it won’t sell its facial recognition software to police, following similar moves by Amazon and IBM. “We’ve decided we will not sell facial recognition technology to police departments in the United States until we have a national law in place, grounded in human rights, that will govern this …

Microsoft declines to sell facial recognition tech to police until there is a law to regulate it
4 years, 9 months ago

Microsoft declines to sell facial recognition tech to police until there is a law to regulate it

Firstpost  

Microsoft said it has worked on enacting principles and legislation for the software’s use. Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it would await federal regulation before selling facial recognition technology to police, making it the latest big firm to back away from the business following protests against law enforcement brutality and bias. The announcement came shortly after rival Amazon.com Inc declared …

Amazon bans police use of its face recognition for a year
4 years, 9 months ago

Amazon bans police use of its face recognition for a year

The Hindu  

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday said it was implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition software, halting a business it long defended as many protested law enforcement brutality against people of colour. “We hope this one-year moratorium might give Congress enough time to implement appropriate rules, and we stand ready to help if requested,” Amazon said. One …

Amazon pauses police use of its facial recognition software
4 years, 9 months ago

Amazon pauses police use of its facial recognition software

Al Jazeera  

Amid George Floyd protests, US tech giant Amazon issues a one-year pause on police use of its controversial software. Amazon.com Inc said it is implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition software, a reversal of its longtime defence of law enforcement’s use of the technology. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon has been the most …

Amazon bans police use of its face recognition for a year
4 years, 9 months ago

Amazon bans police use of its face recognition for a year

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Amazon banned police use of its face-recognition technology for a year, making it the latest tech giant to step back from law-enforcement use of systems that have faced criticism for incorrectly identifying people with darker skin. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon has been the most public about using Rekognition, but said after Amazon’s announcement Wednesday …

In wake of George Floyd’s death, IBM gets out of the facial recognition business
4 years, 9 months ago

In wake of George Floyd’s death, IBM gets out of the facial recognition business

LA Times  

IBM is getting out of the facial recognition business, saying it’s concerned about how the technology can be used for mass surveillance and racial profiling. Many U.S. law enforcement agencies rely on facial recognition software built by companies less well known to the public, such as Tokyo-based NEC or the European companies Idemia and Cognitec, according to Clare Garvie, a …

Amazon facial recognition falsely matches more than 100 politicians to arrested criminals
4 years, 9 months ago

Amazon facial recognition falsely matches more than 100 politicians to arrested criminals

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Amazon's controversial facial recognition technology has incorrectly matched more than 100 photos of …

London Cops Will Use Facial Recognition to Hunt Suspects
5 years, 2 months ago

London Cops Will Use Facial Recognition to Hunt Suspects

Wired  

There will soon be a new bobby on the beat in London: artificial intelligence. London’s Metropolitan Police said Friday that it will deploy facial recognition technology to find wanted criminals and missing persons. Seeing a major police force in a Western democracy embrace facial recognition may only embolden more repressive regimes elsewhere in the world, says Silkie Carlo, director of …

Facial recognition systems show rampant racial bias, government study finds
5 years, 3 months ago

Facial recognition systems show rampant racial bias, government study finds

CNN  

Washington, DC CNN Business — Federal researchers have found widespread evidence of racial bias in nearly 200 facial recognition algorithms in an extensive government study, highlighting the technology’s shortcomings and potential for misuse. Portland, Oregon could go further: It is currently weighing a complete facial recognition ban not just for local government, but for private companies as well. On the …

FBI sued for improperly withholding info on how facial data of millions of Americans is used
5 years, 4 months ago

FBI sued for improperly withholding info on how facial data of millions of Americans is used

Firstpost  

Activists believe the FBI is currently collecting biometric data of at least 640 million adults in the United States. A civil liberties watchdog Thursday sued the FBI and other federal agencies claiming the government is improperly withholding information on how it uses a facial recognition database of millions of Americans. “Because of the FBI’s secrecy, little is known about how …

World's biggest face recognition system arrives in India next month
5 years, 5 months ago

World's biggest face recognition system arrives in India next month

India TV News  

With the tender submission date to procure the National Automated Facial Recognition System just 20 days away, India is closer to install worlds largest facial recognition system to track and nab criminals. In April last year, Delhi Police identifed almost 3,000 missing children in just four days during a trial of a facial recognition system. Given the potential for abuse …

Facial Recognition Is Suddenly Everywhere. Should You Worry?
55 years, 2 months ago

Facial Recognition Is Suddenly Everywhere. Should You Worry?

Wired  

The accuracy of facial-recognition algorithms has improved significantly in the past few years. Keep Reading The latest on artificial intelligence, from machine learning to computer vision and more Civil rights groups and US government studies suggest the technology is often less accurate for women and people with darker skin tones. Three US cities, including San Francisco, recently blocked their agencies …

Facebook’s Face-ID Database Could Be the Biggest in the World. Yes, It Should Worry Us.
55 years, 2 months ago

Facebook’s Face-ID Database Could Be the Biggest in the World. Yes, It Should Worry Us.

Slate  

Every day, Facebook users upload hundreds of millions of photos to the social network. The company’s research suggests that Facebook holds “the largest facial dataset to date”—powered by DeepFace, Facebook’s deep-learning facial recognition system. Unlike Amazon’s Rekognition, which is facial recognition software that scans existing databases provided by clients like law enforcement agencies, Facebook’s system doesn’t need an external trove …

Washington Post: ICE, FBI use state driver’s license photos for facial-recognition scans
5 years, 8 months ago

Washington Post: ICE, FBI use state driver’s license photos for facial-recognition scans

CNN  

Washington CNN — Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI are utilizing state driver’s license databases to scan through “millions of Americans’ photos without their knowledge or consent,” The Washington Post reported Sunday. President Donald Trump said last month his administration would launch a series of ICE raids sometime after the Fourth of July, and acting Homeland Security …

California considers ban on facial recognition’s new frontier: police body cameras
5 years, 9 months ago

California considers ban on facial recognition’s new frontier: police body cameras

LA Times  

Facial recognition’s first blanket ban arrived in May, when San Francisco became the only city in the nation to bar police and other agencies from using the technology. State lawmakers are considering regulation barring all California law enforcement officers from running facial recognition programs on body cameras. — Matt Cagle, attorney, American Civil Liberties Union The state measure, Assembly Bill …

Amazon defends its facial-recognition technology, supports calls for legislation
6 years, 1 month ago

Amazon defends its facial-recognition technology, supports calls for legislation

CNN  

San Francisco CNN Business — Despite concerns from investors, civil rights groups and others, Amazon thinks its facial-recognition technology can be helpful for law enforcement. He said that in the more than two years that Rekognition has been available, Amazon hasn’t gotten “a single report of misuse by law enforcement.” The post comes after numerous groups — from investors to …

User data harvest to fears of smartphone addiction, 2018 highlighted tech dystopia
6 years, 3 months ago

User data harvest to fears of smartphone addiction, 2018 highlighted tech dystopia

Firstpost  

2018’s tech scandals have been enough to exhaust even the most imaginative sci-fi visionaries. “A dark, goofy ’90s retro-future.” More awaits us in 2019, as surveillance and data-collection efforts ramp up and artificial intelligence systems start sounding more human, reading facial expressions and generating fake video images so realistic that it will be harder to detect malicious distortions of the …

Amazon may want to identify burglars with facial recognition tech
6 years, 3 months ago

Amazon may want to identify burglars with facial recognition tech

CNN  

Washington, DC CNN Business — An Amazon patent application sheds light on a way to monitor neighborhoods with a doorbell camera that could alert homeowners and police of suspicious activities and people. The patent application, which was made public on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website Thursday, describes how a network of cameras could work together with facial …

Amazon will sell facial recognition tech to police despite employee protests
6 years, 4 months ago

Amazon will sell facial recognition tech to police despite employee protests

Firstpost  

The activities of tech companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft are being increasingly scrutinised and criticised by their own employees. As the world’s reliance on cloud services increases, it’s inevitable that services like law enforcement and the military will turn to the cloud as a tool for increasing their efficiency and effectiveness. One such program is Amazon’s Rekognition, a facial …

Amazon met with ICE officials over facial-recognition system that could identify immigrants
6 years, 5 months ago

Amazon met with ICE officials over facial-recognition system that could identify immigrants

LA Times  

Washington Post Amazon.com Inc. pitched its facial-recognition system in the summer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as a way for the agency to target or identify immigrants, a move that could shove the tech giant further into a growing debate over the technology industry’s work with the government. An Amazon Web Service official specializing in federal sales contracts, whose …

As use of facial recognition by law enforcement grows, so do privacy fears
6 years, 8 months ago

As use of facial recognition by law enforcement grows, so do privacy fears

Firstpost  

Facial recognition is playing a bigger role in law enforcement and border security around the world. A growing fear for civil liberties activists is that law enforcement will deploy facial recognition in “real time” through drones, body cameras and dash cams. Clare Garvie, lead author of the 2016 Georgetown study, said that in the past two years, “facial recognition has …

Amazon's facial recognition technology is being used to identify celebrities. Could it soon spot you?
6 years, 9 months ago

Amazon's facial recognition technology is being used to identify celebrities. Could it soon spot you?

ABC  

Hundreds of years of technological innovation and here we are: a machine that can tell a Witherspoon from a Kidman. Critics are concerned facial recognition is being democratised, thanks to tools like Amazon's Rekognition, which they fear are too cheap, too easily available and could be misused. "If the guests at the Royal wedding would otherwise have been recognisable by …

Orlando Police Testing Amazon's Real-Time Facial Recognition
6 years, 10 months ago

Orlando Police Testing Amazon's Real-Time Facial Recognition

NPR  

Orlando Police Testing Amazon's Real-Time Facial Recognition Enlarge this image toggle caption Amazon Web Services Korea via YouTube/Screenshot by NPR Amazon Web Services Korea via YouTube/Screenshot by NPR Updated at 4:35 p.m. In a written statement, the Orlando Police Department called the Amazon facial recognition system a "pilot program" and said it "will be used in accordance with current and …

Information commissioner threatens legal action against police using 'dangerous and inaccurate' facial recognition technology
6 years, 10 months ago

Information commissioner threatens legal action against police using 'dangerous and inaccurate' facial recognition technology

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The information commissioner has threatened …

Real-Time Facial Recognition Is Available, But Will U.S. Police Buy It?
6 years, 10 months ago

Real-Time Facial Recognition Is Available, But Will U.S. Police Buy It?

NPR  

Real-Time Facial Recognition Is Available, But Will U.S. Police Buy It? China recently announced real-time facial recognition covering "16 provinces, cities and autonomous regions," and similar systems are being tried in Russia, India and even the United Kingdom. He's a kind of privacy ombudsman, and he worries that British police are running "trials" of real-time facial recognition before elected officials …

HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY WORK?
6 years, 10 months ago

HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY WORK?

Daily Mail  

Experts believe that facial recognition technology will soon overtake fingerprint technology as the most effective way to identify people. Police in Washington are running suspect sketches through Amazon's controversial facial recognition software, report reveals In a previously undocumented use of facial recognition software, police in Washington state are using Amazon's 'Rekognition' to track down. California bans cops from using facial …

Facebook Expands Use Of Facial Recognition To ID Users In Photos
7 years, 3 months ago

Facebook Expands Use Of Facial Recognition To ID Users In Photos

NPR  

Facebook Expands Use Of Facial Recognition To ID Users In Photos toggle caption Facebook Facebook is expanding its use of facial recognition software to alert users when photos of them are posted on the platform — whether or not they are tagged in the photo. "We want people to feel confident when they post pictures of themselves on Facebook so …

Hackers Trick Facial-Recognition Logins With Photos From Facebook (What Else?)
8 years, 7 months ago

Hackers Trick Facial-Recognition Logins With Photos From Facebook (What Else?)

Wired  

Facial recognition makes sense as a method for your computer to recognize you. Earlier this month at the Usenix security conference, security and computer vision specialists from the University of North Carolina presented a system that uses digital 3-D facial models based on publicly available photos and displayed with mobile virtual reality technology to defeat facial recognition systems. Department of …

Facebook's Facial Recognition Software Is Different From The FBI's. Here's Why
8 years, 10 months ago

Facebook's Facial Recognition Software Is Different From The FBI's. Here's Why

NPR  

Facebook's Facial Recognition Software Is Different From The FBI's. Every time one of its 1.65 billion users uploads a photo to Facebook and tags someone, that person is helping the facial recognition algorithm. Compare that with the FBI's facial recognition technology, Next Generation Identification, which according to the FBI, identifies the correct person in the list of the top 50 …

Facebook wants to put profile photos in its facial recognition database
11 years, 6 months ago

Facebook wants to put profile photos in its facial recognition database

Firstpost  

Facebook is considering adding users’ profile pictures to their facial recognition database in a move which is sure to spark debate around the issue of online privacy. This possible move, which was unveiled on Thursday by Facebook as part of its data use policy update, will expand the scope of the social network’s controversial facial recognition technology, and improve the …

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