Security News > 2020 > June > Facial Recognition: IT and Police in Delicate Dance
Tech giants love to portray themselves as forces for good and as the United States was gripped by anti-racism protests a number of them publicly disavowed selling controversial facial recognition technology to police forces.
The technology has a dark side, with facial recognition integrated into China's massive public surveillance system and its social credit experiment where even minor infractions of public norms can result in sanctions.
Microsoft and Amazon announced they would suspend sales of facial recognition software to police forces while IBM said it would exit the business.
According to advocacy group AlgorithmWatch, at least 10 European police forces already use facial recognition technology and haven't needed to turn to the tech giants.
In February, The Intercept cited a report that 10 European police forces are considering a joint network for facial recognition searches by extending agreements in place that allow sharing of biometric information like DNA and fingerprints.