Microsoft won't sell facial recognition to police until new law is in place

Microsoft will not sell facial recognition technology to U.S. police departments until there is a national law to regulate this technology. On Thursday, Microsoft president Brad Smith said on Washington Post Live the company will cease the selling of this technology until a law "grounded in human rights" is put in place. "This is a moment in time that really calls on us to listen more to learn more and, most importantly, to do more," Smith said. The move follows Amazon's Wednesday announcement to suspend police use of its facial recognition technology, Rekognition, for one year after several studies found bias in the software that disproportionately targets people of color. Similarly, in a letter to Congress, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna also said the company would not sell facial recognition services to most customers.