Microsoft CLO believes it’s cruel to stop agencies from using face recognition tech

Recent petitions have emerged on the internet that want tech companies to stop providing face recognition technology to government agencies as it poses a risk of privacy and government surveillance. More than 85 human rights groups have appealed to Google, Amazon, and Microsoft against the provision of face recognition tech to government agencies because they believe it “threatens the safety of community members and will also undermine public trust.”

Microsoft’s President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith believes that this approach would be counterproductive and cruel. In his discussion with Business Insider, he strongly opposed the idea of not providing government agencies with the necessary technology by saying:

I do not understand an argument that companies should avoid all licensing to any government agency for any purpose whatsoever. A sweeping ban on all government use clearly goes too far and risks being cruel in its humanitarian effect.

He further went on to say that only certain uses of facial recognition cause harm. If companies were to forbid government agencies from using this tech, it would cause bias or discrimination. He further said:

We’re worried about certain scenarios by law enforcement or by governments in certain countries that you don’t fully respect human rights. So we put in place principles and we put in place steps so that we don’t license this technology in ways that we or the world would come to regret.

Microsoft currently has an extensive post written by Brad himself which governs the use of facial recognition tech and research in the company. Do you think it’s right to provide agencies with facial recognition solutions?