This comes after IBM, Microsoft and Amazon said they would end sales of the technology to law enforcement, at least temporarily.
A group of Democratic lawmakers are seeking to ban government use of facial recognition technology with a new bicameral bill announced Thursday.
The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act is a response to recent reports of government use of the technology, according to a press release. It would seek to make permanent the pledges IBM, Microsoft and Amazon have taken to temporarilystop selling their technology to law enforcement.
The companies announced those moves amid rising scrutiny of surveillance systems tracking widespread protests over the death of George Floyd. The firms cited the lack of regulation as a core reason for their decisions, but this new bill goes further than simply placing guardrails on law enforcement’s use of the technology.
Under the legislation, federal entities would not be allowed to use facial recognition technology or other biometric tools like voice recognition, unless Congress lifts the ban with a separate act.
