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 politicians in the UK and US to police mugshots, new tests have revealed. "By those standards, Amazon's face recognition hasn't improved and even performed worse that what the ACLU posited two years ago," Comparitech wrote in a blog post detailing the findings. Following the 2018 study, Amazon said that for law enforcement purposes the confidence level of the software should be set to 95 per cent, rather than the 80 per cent level used by the ACLU. "The 80 per cent confidence threshold used by the ACLU is far too low to ensure the accurate identification of individuals; we would expect to see false positives at this level of confidence," Matt Wood, Amazon Web Service's VP of artificial intelligence, wrote in a blog post at the time.

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History of this topic

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 …

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 …

Putative class action suit against Microsoft, Amazon for violating biometric privacy laws dismissed by U.S. court
2 years, 5 months ago

Putative class action suit against Microsoft, Amazon for violating biometric privacy laws dismissed by U.S. court

The Hindu  

Two U.S. residents who claimed that Microsoft and Amazon violated the Biometric Information Privacy Act by using their photos to train facial recognition software, saw their putative class actions dismissed by a Washington federal judge on Monday. Microsoft and Amazon, which dominate the cloud-computing space, used IBM's 'Diversity in Faces' dataset to train their own facial recognition tools. However, Illinois …

Explained | Delhi Police’s use of facial recognition technology
2 years, 7 months ago

Explained | Delhi Police’s use of facial recognition technology

The Hindu  

The story so far: Right to Information responses received by the Internet Freedom Foundation, a New-Delhi based digital rights organisation, reveal that the Delhi Police treats matches of above 80% similarity generated by its facial recognition technology system as positive results. In 2020, the Delhi Police stated in an RTI response that, though they obtained FRT as per the Sadhan …

Police Commission sets new rules for how LAPD uses surveillance technology
2 years, 7 months ago

Police Commission sets new rules for how LAPD uses surveillance technology

LA Times  

LAPD Chief Michel Moore in 2020. This week, Moore voiced support for new rules on how the department can use surveillance technology, saying they would be “valuable in building public trust.” The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday adopted new rules for how police can use crimefighting technologies, despite opposition from advocacy groups who said they could lead to increased …

Facial recognition company used by British police fined £7.5m over unlawful image database
2 years, 10 months ago

Facial recognition company used by British police fined £7.5m over unlawful image database

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A facial recognition company used by British police forces has …

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, …

States push back against use of facial recognition by police
3 years, 10 months ago

States push back against use of facial recognition by police

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have used facial recognition technology to solve homicides and bust human traffickers, but concern about its accuracy and the growing pervasiveness of video surveillance is leading some state lawmakers to hit the pause button. “It’s one of those rare issues that’s seen bipartisan support, in that nobody wants to be tracked …

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 …

Controversial facial recognition technology quietly used by Co-Op
4 years, 3 months ago

Controversial facial recognition technology quietly used by Co-Op

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. “All of our customers have been made aware with distinctive signage and we have introduced a system …

AI experts warn against crime prediction algorithms, saying there are no 'physical features to criminality'
4 years, 8 months ago

AI experts warn against crime prediction algorithms, saying there are no 'physical features to criminality'

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. The letter, signed by over 1000 experts, argues that data generated by the criminal justice system cannot …

A Flawed Facial-Recognition System Sent This Man to Jail
55 years, 2 months ago

A Flawed Facial-Recognition System Sent This Man to Jail

Wired  

In January, Detroit police arrested and charged 42-year-old Robert Williams with stealing $4,000 in watches from a retail store 15 months earlier. Taken away in handcuffs in front of his two children, Williams was sent to an interrogation room where police presented him with their evidence: Facial-recognition software matched his driver’s license photo with surveillance footage from the night of …

Facial surveillance is slowly being trialled around the country
4 years, 9 months ago

Facial surveillance is slowly being trialled around the country

ABC  

When Lauren Dry heard last year that facial recognition cameras were being trialled in the suburb of East Perth, she thought it was a joke. Key points: Facial recognition technology is slowly being trialled around the country A privacy expert says there are serious questions about the efficacy of facial recognition software One resident says councils and government are walking …

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 …

Amazon is not an ally: The corporation says it stands in solidarity. Its actions say otherwise
4 years, 9 months ago

Amazon is not an ally: The corporation says it stands in solidarity. Its actions say otherwise

Salon  

On Sunday the American Civil Liberties Union called out Amazon for hypocrisy after Amazon posted a corporate show of support. That raises the question: how much "solidarity" can Amazon really have in this case, given the extent to which they have helped contribute to racist police violence in this country? If you understand anything about the world of corporate public …

Coming to terms with biometrics in policing
5 years ago

Coming to terms with biometrics in policing

The Hindu  

Ever since the police became a formal organisation nearly 150 years ago, there is global consensus that the police charter ought not to be restricted to a mere maintenance of peace in public places. This explains the sharp adverse responses, albeit only by a few groups, to a counter-crime facial recognition technology. Perhaps the stoutest defender of facial recognition technology …

ACLU sues DHS to expose secretive use of facial recognition technology
5 years ago

ACLU sues DHS to expose secretive use of facial recognition technology

Salon  

The ACLU's national and New York arms filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and three of its agencies to expose law enforcement's secretive use of facial recognition surveillance technology. "Unlike other ways of verifying a person's identity, face recognition technology can enable persistent government surveillance on a massive scale," Ashley Gorski, staff attorney with …

Facial recognition to be rolled out across London by police, despite privacy concerns
5 years, 2 months ago

Facial recognition to be rolled out across London by police, despite privacy concerns

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. Eight trials carried out by the Metropolitan Police between …

Federal study finds race, gender affect face-scanning tech
5 years, 3 months ago

Federal study finds race, gender affect face-scanning tech

Associated Press  

A study by a U.S. agency has found that facial recognition technology often performs unevenly based on a person’s race, gender or age. The report cautions against “incomplete” previous research alleging biased facial recognition that has alarmed the public, but also confirms similar trends showing higher error rates for women, the youngest and oldest people, and for certain racial groups …

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 …

ACLU sues federal government over surveillance from facial recognition technology
5 years, 4 months ago

ACLU sues federal government over surveillance from facial recognition technology

CNN  

New York CNN — The America Civil Liberties Union is suing multiple government agencies to release records on how facial recognition technology is being used, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday. The complaint says the suit was filed because of growing concern about the government’s use of biometric identification and tracking technologies – tools that enable “undetectable, persistent and suspicionless …

California Bill Would Halt Facial Recognition on Bodycams
55 years, 2 months ago

California Bill Would Halt Facial Recognition on Bodycams

Wired  

Last month, members of the California legislature were subject to a surveillance experiment, courtesy of the American Civil Liberties Union. He hoped it would drum up support for his bill, AB 1215, to ban facial recognition from police body cameras. The bill would ban the use of facial recognition algorithms in real time, when the body cameras are rolling, and …

Facial recognition software mistook 1 in 5 California lawmakers for criminals, says ACLU
5 years, 7 months ago

Facial recognition software mistook 1 in 5 California lawmakers for criminals, says ACLU

LA Times  

California Assemblyman Phil Ting has never been arrested, but he was recently mistaken for a criminal. Ting, who authored a bill to ban facial recognition software from being used on police body cameras, was one of 26 California legislators who was incorrectly matched with a mug shot in a recent test of a common face-scanning program by the American Civil …

Facial recognition: Activists call for ban of government use of technology that is 'profound threat to humanity'
5 years, 8 months ago

Facial recognition: Activists call for ban of government use of technology that is 'profound threat to humanity'

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Activists are calling for …

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 …

Police urged to axe facial recognition after research finds four of five ‘suspects’ are innocent
5 years, 8 months ago

Police urged to axe facial recognition after research finds four of five ‘suspects’ are innocent

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 Scotland Yard has been urged …

The many biases of facial recognition tools
5 years, 9 months ago

The many biases of facial recognition tools

The Hindu  

Last month, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, in an 8-1 vote, banned the use of facial recognition technology by local agencies. Civil rights concerns The ACLU and a group of other similar organisations wrote to Jeff Bezos in May 2018 requesting that Amazon stop selling its facial recognition technology to law enforcement agencies. On May 22, the U.S. House of …

Facial recognition wrongly identifies public as potential criminals 96% of time, figures reveal
5 years, 10 months ago

Facial recognition wrongly identifies public as potential criminals 96% of time, figures reveal

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Scotland Yard called the trials “overt” but The Independent found shoppers unaware facial recognition …

Face recognition researcher fights Amazon over biased AI
5 years, 11 months ago

Face recognition researcher fights Amazon over biased AI

Associated Press  

— Facial recognition technology was already seeping into everyday life — from your photos on Facebook to police scans of mugshots — when Joy Buolamwini noticed a serious glitch: Some of the software couldn’t detect dark-skinned faces like hers. On Wednesday, a group of AI scholars, including a winner of computer science’s top prize, launched a spirited defense of her …

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 …

Researchers say Amazon face-detection technology shows bias
6 years, 2 months ago

Researchers say Amazon face-detection technology shows bias

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Facial-detection technology that Amazon is marketing to law enforcement often misidentifies women, particularly those with darker skin, according to researchers from MIT and the University of Toronto. Matt Wood, general manager of artificial intelligence with Amazon’s cloud-computing unit, said the study uses a “facial analysis” and not “facial recognition” technology. Wood said facial analysis “can spot faces …

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 …

Lawmakers Can't Ignore Facial Recognition's Bias Anymore
55 years, 2 months ago

Lawmakers Can't Ignore Facial Recognition's Bias Anymore

Wired  

Amazon touts its Rekognition facial recognition system as “simple and easy to use,” encouraging customers to “detect, analyze, and compare faces for a wide variety of user verification, people counting, and public safety use cases.” And yet, in a study released Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union, the technology managed to confuse photos of 28 members of Congress with …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Home Office faces inquiry over police storing 20m mugshots including images of innocent people
7 years, 2 months ago

Home Office faces inquiry over police storing 20m mugshots including images of innocent people

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. Read our privacy policy Ministers face a parliamentary inquiry over the storing by police of …

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