document
Coalition Letter to Microsoft Requesting Company Commit Not to Release Face Surveillance Product
Document Date:
January 15, 2019
A coalition of more than 85 racial justice, faith, and civil, human, and immigrants鈥 rights groups wrote to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith on January 15, 2019, demanding the company commit not to sell face surveillance technology to the government.
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Press ReleaseJan 2019
Pressure Mounts on Amazon, Microsoft, and Google Against Selling Facial Recognition to Government
NEW YORK 鈥 A coalition of over 85 racial justice, faith, and civil, human, and immigrants鈥 rights groups today sent letters to Microsoft, Amazon, and Google demanding the companies commit not to sell face surveillance technology to the government. The coalition makes it clear to each company that a decision to provide face surveillance technology to the government threatens the safety of community members and will also undermine public trust in its business. 鈥淐ompanies can鈥檛 continue to pretend that the 鈥榖reak then fix鈥 approach works,鈥 said Nicole Ozer, Technology and Civil Liberties director for the 老澳门开奖结果 of California. 鈥淗istory has clearly taught us that the government will exploit technologies like face surveillance to target communities of color, religious minorities, and immigrants. We are at a crossroads with face surveillance, and the choices made by these companies now will determine whether the next generation will have to fear being tracked by the government for attending a protest, going to their place of worship, or simply living their lives.鈥 The coalition also notes in its letters that face surveillance 鈥済ives the government new power to target and single out immigrants, religious minorities, and people of color in our communities鈥 and that 鈥渟ystems built on face surveillance will amplify and exacerbate historical and existing bias.鈥 Acknowledging both employee and shareholder calls for corporate change, the coalition reiterates that it is time for these companies to take responsibility for the impact of their technology on the privacy and safety of communities and commit not to sell face surveillance to the government. 鈥淚n 2018, groups representing Muslims, African-Americans, immigrants, incarcerated Japanese-Americans, and more met with Amazon and Microsoft to share firsthand stories of the impacts of targeted surveillance on these communities,鈥 said Shankar Narayan, Technology and Liberty Project director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Washington in Seattle. 鈥淭he groups urged Microsoft and Amazon to not sell face surveillance technology to government entities, because doing so will supercharge a long history of impacts on those communities. All of these companies should heed that clear message 鈥 they owe it to society, their customers, their shareholders, and the diverse communities represented by this coalition.鈥 The letters come as executives from Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have all spoken publicly about facial recognition technology, revealing an industry at odds on how to respond to concerns raised about government use of such technology. Google recently announced that it will not sell a face surveillance product until the technology鈥檚 dangers are addressed, with its CEO Sundar Pichai warning the tech industry that with artificial intelligence, you 鈥渏ust can鈥檛 build it and then fix it.鈥 The coalition today welcomed Google鈥檚 decision, and called on the company to fully commit to not release a facial recognition product that could be used by government. Microsoft President Brad Smith also recently acknowledged the risks associated with face surveillance and the company鈥檚 obligation to act internally to address potential harms. The coalition commended Smith鈥檚 acknowledgement of the technology鈥檚 harms, but noted that the company鈥檚 proposed measures to prevent such harms were 鈥渨holly inadequate.鈥 The groups added that Microsoft has a 鈥渞esponsibility to do more than speak about ethical principles; it must also act in accordance with those principles.鈥 Amazon, meanwhile, has doubled down on efforts to sell facial recognition technology to government, despite continued warnings from consumers, employees, members of Congress, and shareholders. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos acknowledged his company鈥檚 products might be put to 鈥渂ad uses,鈥 but said the solution was to wait for society鈥檚 eventual 鈥渋mmune response鈥 to take care of the problems. Further, recent reports revealed that the FBI is piloting the use of Rekognition, Amazon鈥檚 face surveillance product, and that Amazon recently met with ICE officials about its face surveillance product. In its letter to Amazon, the coalition notes that 鈥淎mazon鈥檚 inaction in response to widespread concerns about face surveillance stands in contrast to the steps taken by its competitors鈥 and that 鈥渋t is wholly irresponsible to wait for society to develop an 鈥榠mmune response鈥 to technologies like face surveillance.鈥 The 老澳门开奖结果 revealed last year that Amazon has been actively marketing its face surveillance technology to law enforcement and helping them deploy it. On July 26, 2018, the 老澳门开奖结果 also released results of a test showing that Rekognition falsely matched 28 current members of Congress with images in an arrest photo database. Congressional members of color were disproportionately identified incorrectly, including six members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The release of the documents and test results spurred a nationwide movement in protest of government use of face surveillance and resulted in over 150,000 petition signatures, a coalition letter signed by nearly 70 organizations representing communities nationwide, and a letter from Amazon鈥檚 shareholders and employees demanding the company stop providing face surveillance technology to governments. Members of Congress also wrote to Amazon with civil rights concerns and questions about the sale of Rekognition to law enforcement, and requested information from federal agencies about the use of this technology. List of organizations that signed today鈥檚 letters to Amazon, Google, and Microsoft demanding that the companies commit not to sell face surveillance technology to the government: 老澳门开奖结果老澳门开奖结果 Foundations of California老澳门开奖结果 of Massachusetts老澳门开奖结果 of WashingtonNew York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)18MillionRising.orgA New PATHAccess NowALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New YorkAmerican Friends Service CommitteeAmerican Muslim Empowerment Network-Muslim Association of Puget SoundAmerican Muslims of Puget SoundArab American InstituteAsian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJCAsian Americans Advancing Justice- Asian Law CaucusCAIR San Francisco Bay AreaCalifornians United for a Responsible BudgetCampaign for AccountabilityCasa LatinaCenter for Media JusticeCenter on Policy InitiativesCharles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and JusticeColor Of ChangeCouncil on American Islamic Relations, MassachusettsCouncil on American-Islamic Relations, CaliforniaCREDO ActionData for Black LivesDefending Rights & DissentDemand ProgressDenshoEl Centro de la RazaElectronic Frontier FoundationEnd Solitary Santa Cruz CountyEntre HermanosFair Chance ProjectFamilies for Justice as HealingFamilies Belong TogetherFight for the FutureFree PressFreedom for ImmigrantsFreedom of the Press FoundationGovernment Accountability ProjectGovernment Information WatchGrassroots CollaborativeHarrington Investments, Inc.Harvard Law School National Lawyers GuildHuman Rights WatchImmigrant Defense ProjectInterfaith Center on Corporate ResponsibilityInternational Committee for Robot Arms ControlJohn T. Williams Organizing CommitteeJustice for Muslims CollectiveLAANE (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy)Legal Services for Prisoners with ChildrenLibrary Freedom ProjectLucy Parsons LabsMake the Road New YorkMedia AllianceMental Health Legal Advisors Committee of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtMijenteMuslim Justice LeagueNational Association of Criminal Defense LawyersNational Immigration Law CenterNational Immigration Project of the NLGNational Lawyers Guild - New York City ChapterNational Lawyers Guild - Massachusetts ChapterNew Economy ProjectNew York Communities for ChangeOakland PrivacyOCCORD (Orange County Communities Organized For Responsible Development)OneAmericaOur Revolution ArlingtonPartnership for Working FamiliesPolicing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn CollegeRAICESReal Change Homeless Empowerment ProjectRestore The FourthSilicon Valley RisingSisters of St. Joseph of BrentwoodStarting Over, Inc.SumOfUsTenth Amendment CenterThe Greenlining InstituteThe Legal Aid Society (NYC)The Project on Government OversightTri-State Coalition for Responsible InvestmentUnitarian Universalist Mass ActionWar Resisters LeagueWomen's International League for Peace and FreedomX-Lab