Recently, Amazon was under fire for permitting police the use of its facial recognition tech. This was, of course, after the company made a statement condemning police brutality and extending support to the black community. People termed it hypocritical as they were propagating one thing to maintain face value, but their actions were entirely contrary.

Microsoft is following suit – President Brad Smith revealed during his conversation with the Washington Post, which was live-streamed on Thursday, that the company will no longer sell its facial recognition tech to law enforcement. 

But the announcement came with a big “but” because Microsoft also made it clear that if the Congress passes a rule that compels them to sell the tech, it will not fight it. Hence, if the technology can play a part in protecting human lives, it will not hesitate one bit.

“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 technology.” – Smith said.

Amazon has announced that it will hold off selling its Rekognition software to the police department for a year – that will give time to Congress to come up with a solution. According to them, a year should be enough to think and pass legislation governing rule of its tech.

Source: YouTube

IBM, on the other hand, has taken a strong stand. It has decided to step out from the facial recognition industry altogether. They’ve acknowledged and aborted the racial discrimination and the inherent bias built in these devices.

Hence, if you take the statements given by IBM and Amazon and compare it with the one given by Microsoft, you’d see that it lies somewhere in the middle.

The recent protests that have emerged as a direct result of police brutality have caused these companies to take stern actions. America is shaken to its core and has made each individual reevaluate their personal attitude and behavior and the prejudice that lies within.