It turns out that Amazon sells face recognition software to the police, and alarm bells are sounded as a possibility of being abused in public surveillance

byBill Dickinson

Amazon sells inexpensive face recognition software developed by Amazon to companies that conduct data analysis and information processing for at least two state law enforcement agencies, police body camera manufacturers and law enforcement agencies I understood that.

Amazon is selling facial recognition to law enforcement - for a fistful of dollars - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/05/22/amazon-is-selling-facial-recognition-to-law-enforcement-for-a-fistful-of-dollars/

Amazon Is Selling Cheap, Real-Time Facial Recognition Technology to Cops - Motherboard
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/3k4dq5/amazon-rekognition-facial-recognition-cops-body-cameras


The fact that Amazon's face recognition software was sold was found from police internal documents and Amazon's marketing materials.

According to the marketing material, Amazon Web Services created in 2017 "Amazon Rekognition" refers to the user's database and recognizes only a specific person in real time from the video of the live stream captured by the camera thing. When tested in a movie or photo database, software image recognition algorithms say they succeeded in recognizing and tracking targets from within the crowd.

The American Association for Freedom of Human Rights(PDF file)Obtained documentAccording to Amazon Rekognition is used by police as of 2018, in the futureFederal Data and Fusion CenterIt seems that it is being studied about using it with. The fact that Amazon Rekognition is now being used by law enforcement means that Amazon has entered the market in law enforcement agency quickly in the market of surveillance in law enforcement agencies.

Ranju Das, the representative of Amazon Rekognition, reveals that the Florida police were partners to releasing new technologies. "Cameras installed by the police will send data to Amazon and images will be analyzed in real time compared to their collection of facial photos," Das explained. The camera is installed in major areas of the city and is used for tracking "important person".

byGhost Presenter

However, according to the publicity of the Orlando Police Department, this technology is a test stage to the last, it seems that it is not used for monitoring public places and investigating crime.

In addition, Amazon aims to provide software "to provide information that can be prosecuted to the authorities"DATAFUSIONWe also sell it. Matt Cagle, a lawyer at the American Association for Freedom of Human Rights, says, "Amazon recommends using Rekognition for police body cameras, so that police body cameras can be transformed into machines that monitor public places "And suggested its danger. And Cagle also warns about the introduction of Rekognition "at the timing that public protests are rising and the federal government is attacking immigrants and black activists as criminals".

According to the Washington state document, police have been recorded since 2001Mug shotWe upload 300 thousand 500 copies to Amazon's server over 400 dollars (about 44 thousand yen) and then paid 6 dollars a month (about 670 yen) as a royalty for software. It seems, however, that even if the software states that the software "matches the person with the person with a probability of 95.53%" by the American Free Human Rights Association survey, it is actually a mistake.


Fusion Center have put the use of Rekognition in the field of view, after the September 11 attacks occurred, local, state, federal, and those that have been established for the purpose of integrating the data of the private sector. The data of the fusion center includes everything from traffic records, schools, ISPs, communication companies, banks, official documents, law enforcement agencies. In 2018 May current, that the police have been only Rekognition is used for the uploaded image, if Kuwaware data fusion center is in there, the amount of information that would greatly exceed the scope to be handled by Ichi police It will be considered. This is a big reason that many human rights organizations require CEO Jeff Bessus to "stop selling Rekognition to law enforcement agencies".

However, as a human rights group including the American Federation of Free Human Rights asked Amazon's Jeff Bessos to stop selling Rekognition, AWS's public relations say, "Amazon is aware that when using law compliance and services for customers We are seeking responsibility for the customer, and if it turns out that the AWS service is abused by the customer, the customer's right can be stopped. " Rekognition is a valuable service such as being able to find a missing child, stopping the service because "there may be a misuse person"Quality of lifeI will lower it.