Microsoft calls on US government to regulate facial recognition

Microsoft has called on the US government to introduce rules around the use of facial recognition. That would be the only way to properly manage the use of the technology.

Microsoft chairman Brad Smith writes in a blog post that competition between companies that develop facial recognition tools could cause governments to purchase and use products that the public believes are unacceptable. That is why it would be necessary for rules to be set, instead of companies having to set them themselves.

The company cites examples such as rules for use by investigative services, measures against racial profiling, minimum requirements for accuracy and performance, and the granting of consent before processing biometric data. The latter is included, for example, in the General Data Protection Regulation, which has been in force in the EU since the end of May.

Smith says the impact of facial recognition is significant and the technology is evolving rapidly. Nevertheless, it is still far from perfect, for example when looking at bias. The Redmond-based company itself says to ‘slow down’ in the development of facial recognition, because the approach of ‘move fast and break things’ in this area would be harmful.

Specifically, Microsoft is calling on the US Congress to set up an expert committee to consider regulation. It promises to publish some principles about using facial recognition in the future. This technique is not the only one that has sparked debate about the deployment and role of government, as artificial intelligence in the broader sense has sparked similar discussions.