TLDR:
- The FBI is planning to use Amazon’s Rekognition cloud service to analyze lawfully acquired images and videos.
- The project, code-named Tyr, is in the initiation phase and will be used to review and identify items containing nudity, weapons, explosives, and other identifying information.
The FBI has enlisted the help of Amazon’s Rekognition artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance technology, according to documents from the US Department of Justice. The project, known as Tyr, is in the initiation phase and will focus on extracting information and insights from lawfully acquired images and videos to identify items containing nudity, weapons, explosives, and other identifying information. Rekognition can also search for objects in image and video libraries and detect inappropriate or offensive content. Amazon previously pledged to ban police from using Rekognition, but the ban does not extend to government agencies or third-party providers who may then supply the technology to law enforcement.
The move comes at a time when concerns about warrantless surveillance and the use of facial recognition technology are growing. The FBI permits broad use of facial recognition technology in investigations, even if individuals are not designated suspects. There are currently no federal laws limiting how the FBI and other agencies use this technology, and their own policies are considered to be too lax. Privacy advocates are concerned about the potential for abuse and lack of oversight in the use of AI surveillance technology by law enforcement agencies.
There are mixed responses to the news of the FBI using Rekognition. Privacy and civil liberties advocates welcomed Amazon’s decision to sunset the Request for Assistance feature in its Neighbors app, which allowed law enforcement to request Ring video footage without a warrant. However, there are concerns that Amazon may have gone back on its pledge not to sell facial recognition technology to law enforcement agencies. The lack of regulation in the use of AI surveillance technology by law enforcement agencies is also a major concern, as it allows for potential abuse and misuse of the technology.
In response to inquiries, Amazon stated that the FBI’s use of Rekognition does not break its moratorium on banning the police from using Rekognition’s face-comparison features. Amazon believes that companies and government organizations need to use facial recognition technology responsibly and lawfully, and that governments should put in place regulations to govern the ethical use of the technology.