IBM Quits Facial Recognition, Joins Call for Police Reforms

ARMONK, N.Y. (AP) — IBM says it is getting out of the facial recognition business over concern about how it can be used for mass surveillance and racial profiling.

A letter to U.S. lawmakers Monday from new IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said the tech giant “has sunset its general purpose facial recognition and analysis software products.”

Krishna was addressing Democrats who recently introduced police reform legislation in Congress in response to the death of George Floyd and others in law enforcement interactions that have sparked a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice.

IBM had previously tested its facial recognition software in New York City.