Microsoft faces criticism for funding facial recognition surveillance company

Microsoft has been criticized for supporting AnyVision, a facial recognition-based surveillance company entangled in alleged human rights violations. Despite expressing a progressive stance on facial recognition, Microsoft failed to follow through on its claims and ended up funding a company that was carrying out mass-surveillance on Palestinians.

AnyVision is an Israeli company also known for supplying technology and supporting countries known for violating human rights such as Russia and Hong Kong. For a long time now, Microsoft had presented a facade of righteousness when compared to contemporaries such as Google and Amazon in the realm of facial recognition.

In mid-July, it was found that AnyVision was involved in Israeli surveillance project across the country’s West Bank. This new reveal makes it clear that big tech is heavily inclined towards supporting bleeding edge technology that may have undesirable consequences with respect to privacy and security of the general public.

The director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Shankar Narayan said that he had held several meetings with Microsoft in the previous year where the company agreed to refrain from spreading facial recognition. However, Microsoft’s ties with AnyVision made Narayan realize that the company hadn’t followed through.

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