Amazon Is Now A 'Cheap Mass Surveillance' Dealer -- It's Selling Facial Recognition To US Cops

mood · Jan 3, 2019

The FBI is Trying Amazon’s Facial-Recognition Software
January 3, 2019
https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/01/fbi-trying-amazons-facial-recognition-software/153888/

The FBI is piloting Amazon’s facial matching software—Amazon Rekognition—as a means to sift through mountains of video surveillance footage the agency routinely collects during investigations.

[...] technology like Amazon Rekognition frees up FBI agents and analysts to apply their skills to other aspects of the investigation or other cases.
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mood · Jan 22, 2019

ACLU demands Justice Dept. reveal facial recognition tech use
January 21, 2019
https://www.scmagazine.com/home/sec...s-justice-reveal-facial-recognition-tech-use/

The rights organization has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to compel the department about the use of the technology “and what safeguards, if any, are in place to protect basic rights and liberties,” [...] wrote in Rolling Stone Monday.

Rights groups have become increasingly concerned “that the FBI is piloting Amazon’s facial recognition technology, Rekognition, which the tech company is pushing to law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Imagine a world in which secretive government agencies can track millions of faces — both in real time and through historical video footage — enabling them to identify political protesters, whistleblowers and journalists’ confidential sources.”
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Fly · Jan 22, 2019

What about selling/sharing voiceprints ?

Once, when I had to cancel an account they insisted on me calling them (or vice versa) to close the account. I get the feeling there is some darkness, possibly other companies do the same.

mood · Mar 19, 2019

Amazon's Rekognition software lets cops track faces: Here's what you need to know
March 19, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/what-is-amazon-rekognition-facial-recognition-software/

Amazon Rekognition is the company's effort to create software that can identify anything it's looking at -- most notably faces.

And maybe you aren't OK with that. Civil liberties groups such as the ACLU have already raised concerns about the speedy adoption of facial recognition [...]
The controversy caught the attention of Congress last year, and now, with the Senate recently proposing a bill that would limit businesses from collecting and tracking facial recognition data without consent, it seems that Rekognition might be in for a reckoning.

All of which is to say that it's a good time to dive in and get a better understanding of what Rekognition is, how it works and what it's being used for. [...]
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mood · May 2, 2019

A US police force is running suspect sketches through Amazon's facial recognition tech and potentially framing innocent people
May 2, 2019
https://www.businessinsider.de/us-p...through-amazon-facial-recognition-tech-2019-5

Police in Washington County are running sketches of suspects through Amazon's facial recognition software, The Washington Post reports.

It's unclear how effective this method is, but Washington County police told the Post's Drew Harwell that in one test case, using a sketch had identified a man they'd already flagged as a suspect.
AI experts told the Post that using a sketch could increase the likelihood of a false match [...]

Amazon told the Post that using sketches doesn't contravene its rules, but said that it would expect police to "pay close attention to the confidence of any matches produced this way."

"Generally speaking, we are quite concerned about the use of facial recognition by police departments — both when it works and when it doesn't. When it works it turns people into walking ID cards, when it doesn't it risks incriminating the innocent who then have to prove that they are not guilty," said Kaltheuner.
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mood · May 20, 2019

ACLU pushes Amazon shareholders to vote for facial-recognition ban
May 20, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/aclu-pushes-amazon-shareholders-to-vote-for-facial-recognition-ban/

The American Civil Liberties Union is keeping up its pressure against Amazon's practice of selling facial recognition tech to law enforcement.

"Without shareholder action, Amazon may soon become known more for its role in facilitating pervasive government surveillance than for its consumer retail operations," the letter stated.
The proposals call for the company to ban its sale of Rekognition to law enforcement and for Amazon to study its use by police.

Last year, Ting worked on legislation to increase the use of body cameras.
"The last thing we wanted to do was erode that trust by installing facial recognition software on body cameras," Ting said.
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mood · May 21, 2019

Last year, Ting worked on legislation to increase the use of body cameras.
"The last thing we wanted to do was erode that trust by installing facial recognition software on body cameras," Ting said.
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California Senate considers ban on facial recognition software for police body cams
May 21, 2019
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/21/cal...cial-recognition-ban-on-police-body-cams.html

The California state Senate is considering legislation that would ban law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology in body cameras.
The proposal passed the state Assembly earlier this month and is among a flurry of bills the upper chamber will consider starting next month.

“Much of it that is being used right now is actually not very accurate,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, who introduced the measure in February.
Ting has been critical of Amazon’s Rekognition facial recognition technology, as have some company shareholders
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mood · May 22, 2019

mood said: ↑

ACLU pushes Amazon shareholders to vote for facial-recognition ban
May 20, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/aclu-pushes-amazon-shareholders-to-vote-for-facial-recognition-ban/
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Amazon shareholders reject proposal to ban facial recognition sales to governments
May 22, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/ama...ecognition-sales-to-governments-idUSL2N22Y0YM

Amazon.com Inc shareholders rejected proposals to curb and audit the company’s facial recognition service, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
The first proposal would have called on Amazon to stop offering facial recognition to governments unless its board determined sales did not violate civil liberties. A second would have requested a study by September of the extent to which Amazon’s service, known as Rekognition, harmed rights and privacy.
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hawki · Jul 18, 2019

"Cops dump Amazon's facial-recognition API after struggling to make the thing work properly

15 months of wrangling and Orlando couldn't even begin testing AI cloud tech for population surveillance...

Orlando cops have given up using Amazon’s controversial cloud-based facial recognition to monitor CCTV cameras dotted around the Florida city – after a nightmare year of technical breakdowns.

The decision came after officers attempted and failed to tap into Amazon’s Rekognition API,..."

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/07/19/orlando_amazon_facial_recogition/

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