Big Tech faces new pressure over facial recognition contracts

On Tuesday, a group of 90 advocacy groups penned a letter to Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, requesting that the companies pledge not to sell facial recognition technology to the government. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) were among the groups that pressed these companies. The letter marks mounting pressure on some of Silicon Valley's most influential companies and their ramping efforts to build facial recognition systems. "We are at a crossroads with face surveillance, and the choices made by these companies now will determine whether the next generation will have to fear being tracked by the government for attending a protest, going to their place of worship, or simply living their lives," Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties director for the ACLU of California, said. Recently, Google and Microsoft have acknowledged the risks involving facial recognition services and their potential for misuse and surveillance by bad actors.