Government Relies on Industry for Facial Recognition Technology

The contracting community is at odds over the use of facial recognition technology as the federal government appears willing to continue to pay for it.

The government uses private sector facial recognition tools for activities like streamlining entry at security checkpoints or identifying suspects during criminal investigations.

Two major contractors—Idemia and Clearview AI—say they plan to continue using facial recognition, while Microsoft announced last month that it would limit its suite of artificial intelligence offerings.

Microsoft is part of a growing chorus of advocates arguing that regulations, standards, and, in some cases, outright bans are needed if the government ...