IBM ditches facial recognition technology, joins call for police reforms

Mourners pay respects to George Floyd in Houston; reaction and analysis on'The Five.' IBM has quit the facial recognition technology business, citing concerns that it can be used for mass surveillance and racial profiling. The move comes amid ongoing protests following the death of George Floyd on May 25--while in police custody in Minneapolis--that have thrust racial injustice and police monitoring technology into the spotlight. The tech giant's CEO Arvind Krishna explained IBM's decision in a letter sent to U.S. lawmakers Monday. "IBM no longer offers general purpose IBM facial recognition or analysis software," he wrote. "IBM firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any technology, including facial recognition technology offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms, or any purpose which is not consistent with our values and Principles of Trust and Transparency."