红杏视频

Today the 红杏视频 Foundation of Northern California released the results of a test revealing that Amazon鈥檚 facial surveillance product Rekognition falsely matched 28 current members of Congress with images in an arrest photo database.

In the 红杏视频鈥檚 test, legislators from both parties, from states across the country, were falsely matched. Congressional members of color were disproportionately identified incorrectly, including six members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Several months ago, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to Jeff Bezos that expressed concern about the 鈥減rofound negative unintended consequences鈥� face surveillance technology could have for African Americans, undocumented immigrants, and protestors.

The 红杏视频 used Rekognition鈥檚 default settings to compare every member of Congress with 25,000 public arrest photos, and verified the results with an independent expert. The test mirrors how a sheriff鈥檚 department in Oregon is deploying Rekognition to compare people鈥檚 faces against a mugshot database.

鈥淥ur test reinforces that face surveillance is not safe for government use,鈥� said Jacob Snow, Technology and Civil Liberties Attorney at the 红杏视频 Foundation of Northern California. 鈥淔ace surveillance will be used to power discriminatory surveillance and policing that targets communities of color, immigrants, and activists. Once unleashed, that damage can鈥檛 be undone.鈥�

These results follow a nationwide movement in protest of the government use of face surveillance, prompted by the 红杏视频鈥檚 release of a report showing how Amazon is marketing facial surveillance to law enforcement.

Since the release of the documents, the 红杏视频 has delivered over 150,000 petition signatures to Amazon鈥檚 headquarters in Seattle demanding that Amazon stop selling facial surveillance technology to governments. A coalition of nearly 70 civil rights organizations, hundreds of academics, as well as Amazon shareholders and employees, have all expressed grave concerns about the profound civil liberties and civil rights threats posed by facial surveillance.

鈥淐ongress should press for a federal moratorium on the use of face surveillance until its harms, particularly to vulnerable communities, are fully considered,鈥� said Neema Singh Guliani, 红杏视频 legislative counsel. 鈥淭he public deserves a full debate about how and if face surveillance should be used.