---
title: "Amazon Is Writing Its Own Facial Recognition Bills"
description: "Amazon, a company that makes facial recognition software for police, is now attempting to write the laws that regulate facial recognition."
date: "2019-09-26"
modified: "2019-09-27"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/amazon-facial-recognition-bills"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Facial recognition"
tags:
  - "Amazon"
  - "facial recognition"
  - "the digest"
---

# Amazon Is Writing Its Own Facial Recognition Bills

![Amazon, a company that makes facial recognition software for police, is now attempting to write the laws that regulate facial recognition.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/amazon-writing-facial-recognition-bills.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Seattle City Council/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Self-Regulating

Amazon, the online-retailer-turned-tech-giant, is currently drafting a set of potential federal laws to regulate facial recognition.

It's strikingly ironic that Amazon — which develops [oft-criticized](<https://futurism.com/cops-amazon-facial-recognition>) facial recognition software [currently in use](<https://futurism.com/police-facial-recognition-unconscious-suspects>) by police — is now attempting to write the federal laws that would dictate how its own tech can be deployed. But CEO Jeff Bezos says that's essentially the plan, [according to *Recode*](<https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/9/25/20884427/jeff-bezos-amazon-facial-recognition-draft-legislation-regulation-rekognition>). It's a troubling sign of just how much influence one megacorporation could have over the safeguards meant to keep it in check.

## Helping Hand

Amazon has previously called for the government [to impose regulations](<https://futurism.com/amazon-regulation-facial-recognition-tech>) over facial recognition, possibly as a means to stave off criticism of its own [Rekognition software](<https://futurism.com/amazon-rekognition-can-detect-fear>) and its numerous [eyebrow-raising problem areas](<https://futurism.com/amazons-face-rekognition-race-gender>). But now Bezos is upping the ante.

"Our public policy team is actually working on facial recognition regulations," Bezos said at Wednesday's Alexa gadget event, per *Recode*. "It makes a lot of sense to regulate that."

## Getting Ahead

In August, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders vowed to ban law enforcement agencies from [using facial recognition](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/bernie-sanders-ban-police-facial-recognition>) software. That may be why Amazon is drafting some potential regulations: self-imposed rules would be preferable to losing all its [police contracts](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/florida-police-secret-deal-amazon-ring-cameras>).

"It's a perfect example of something that has really positive uses, so you don't want to put the brakes on it," Bezos said at the event. "But, at the same time, there's also potential for abuses of that kind of technology, so you do want regulations. It's a classic dual-use kind of technology."

**READ MORE:** [Jeff Bezos says Amazon is writing its own facial recognition laws to pitch to lawmakers](<https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/9/25/20884427/jeff-bezos-amazon-facial-recognition-draft-legislation-regulation-rekognition>) \[*Recode*\]

**More on Amazon:** *[Cops Are Using Amazon’s Facial Recognition Software Wrong](<https://futurism.com/cops-amazon-facial-recognition>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)