Amazon must let shareholders have a say in selling of controversial facial recognition tech

Amazon can’t block its shareholders from a vote on the company’s controversial facial recognition technology.

In a letter to the e-commerce behemoth this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) struck down an appeal from Amazon to block voting on proposals related to sales of Rekognition to government entities. The SEC says that Amazon must allow its shareholders to vote on these proposals.

The two proposals would speak to the concerns of shareholders, activists, and civil rights groups over the company’s facial recognition tool. The first proposal would stop Amazon from selling its Rekognition technology to governments unless the board approved of the sales. The second proposal would require an audit into the technology in order to research Rekognition’s effects on privacy and civil rights. Read more...