Amazon is selling facial recognition to law enforcement -- for a fistful of dollars

Amazon has been essentially giving away facial recognition tools to law enforcement agencies in Oregon and Orlando, according to documents obtained by American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, paving the way for a rollout of technology that is causing concern among civil rights groups. Amazon is providing the technology, known as Rekognition, as well as consulting services, according to the documents, which the ACLU obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. A coalition of civil rights groups, in a letter released Tuesday, called on Amazon to stop selling the program to law enforcement because it could lead to the expansion of surveillance of vulnerable communities. "We demand that Amazon stop powering a government surveillance infrastructure that poses a grave threat to customers and communities across the country," the groups wrote in the letter. Amazon spokeswoman Nina Lindsey did not directly address the concerns of civil rights groups. "Amazon requires that customers comply with the law and be responsible when they use AWS services," she said, referring to Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud software division that houses the facial recognition program.