Microsoft Corporation has hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in order to investigate if the use of facial recognition technology which was developed by an Israeli startup that it funded complies with its ethical principles, the company said.
AnyVision, based not too far away from Tel Aviv, is under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz’s TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that the technology is used to surveil Palestinian people who live in the occupied West Bank.
AnyVision, denied to NBC such use of its services and did not respond to a request for comment. The probe reflects the public’s growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere which limiting freedom of expression and leads to arrests.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.