- The commitment comes after Amazon's announcement on Wednesday that it would suspend police use of its controversial facial-recognition technology, Rekognition, for one year.
- Hundreds of Microsoft employees have called on the company to end relationships with police departments in general.
- Are you a current or former Microsoft employee? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email (astewart@businessinsider.com).
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Microsoft President Brad Smith says the company does not sell facial recognition to US police departments, and committed not to unless a nationwide law is passed to regulate the technology,
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Microsoft President Brad Smith on Thursday said the company does not sell facial recognition technology to US police departments and will not until there is a national law in place "grounded in human rights" to regulate the technology.
"This is a moment in time that really calls on us to listen more to learn more and, most importantly, to do more," Smith said on Washington Post Live . "Given that, we've decided that we will not sell facial recognition tech to police departments in the United States until we have a national law in place, grounded in human rights, that will govern this technology."
Smith's comments follow Amazon's announcement on Wednesday that it would suspend police use of its controversial facial-recognition technology, Rekognition, for one year. IBM also this week announced that it would no longer sell facial recognition services to most customers .
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Some Microsoft employees have called on the company to end relationships with police departments in general.
Microsoft has long partnered with law enforcement agencies , including the New York Police Department. It provides a surveillance product called Domain Awareness System, which gathers data from detection devices including cameras and license plate readers to, as Microsoft has said , provide "NYPD investigators and analysts with a comprehensive view of potential threats and criminal activity."
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has yet to address those concerns to employees directly, but in a companywide email last week said: "As a company, we need to look inside, examine our organization, and do better. I have heard from many employees over the past several days, expressing calls for action, calls for reflection, calls for change. My response is this: Yes. We have to act," he said, but did not commit to specific actions.
Got a tip? Contact Ashley Stewart via email at astewart@businessinsider.com , message her on Twitter @ashannstew, or send her a secure message through Signal at 425-344-8242.
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