At Amazon, facial recognition ban won just 2% of shareholder vote

Amazon.com Inc shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that the company stop selling facial recognition technology to government agencies, while a resolution to audit the service drew more support, a regulatory filing on Friday showed.

Some 2.4 per cent of votes were in favour of the ban. A second proposal that called for a study of the extent to which Amazon’s “Rekognition” service harmed civil rights and privacy garnered 27.5 per cent support.

Amazon’s sale of the technology to law enforcement in Oregon and Florida has put the company at the centre of a growing US debate over facial recognition, with critics warning of false matches and arrests and proponents arguing it keeps the public safe.