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New rules from Microsoft ban use of AI for facial recognition by law enforcement

Microsoft has updated the terms of service of its Azure OpenAI Service to prevent police from using genAI for facial recognition.

Microsoft has continued to stand firm in its stance against law enforcement using its Azure OpenAI Service for that performs facial recognition, joining other tech giants such as Amazon and IBM in similar decisions. Also now explicitly prohibited is the use of “real-time facial recognition technology on mobile cameras used by any law enforcement globally to attempt to identify an individual [sic] in uncontrolled, ‘in the wild’ environments, which includes (without limitation) police officers on patrol using body-worn or dash-mounted cameras using facial recognition technology to attempt to identify individuals present in a database of suspects or prior inmates.” The current spate of protests across the world over the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza has prompted a renewed commitment to the protection of human rights by tech companies, as issues of police brutality towards protestors arise in the press.

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