SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) — Amazon says it’s considering adding facial recognition technology to its Ring doorbell cameras.
The company is telling Congress that facial recognition is a “contemplated, but unreleased feature” of its home security cameras, but there are no plans to coordinate that feature with its law enforcement partnerships.
Some have raised concerns over the new technology that it may intrude on privacy and civil liberties.
Amazon initially said Ring doesn’t currently offer facial recognition.
In a follow-up earlier this month, Amazon said the company frequently innovates based on customer demand and that facial recognition is an increasingly common feature in competitors’ cameras, such as Google’s Nest division.
Questions about facial recognition were part of broader concerns that some lawmakers and civil liberties advocates have about Ring and its police partnerships.
Amazon sought to address those concerns, emphasizing that camera owners have a choice about whether to share videos.
Senator Ed Markey said Tuesday afternoon that Amazon is not doing enough to ensure its products don’t run afoul of civil liberties.