Microsoft Board Opposes Banning Facial ID Sales

A Microsoft shareholder proposal up for a vote at the Nov. 30 virtual annual meeting asks the board to “generally prohibit sales” of facial recognition technology to “government entities,” said a proxy statement Thursday. The board recommended voting no. Shareholders worry Microsoft’s facial recognition technology “poses risk to civil and human rights and shareholder value,” said the proposal. It cited a June report from investors representing more than $4.5 trillion in assets urging companies “to proactively assess, disclose, mitigate and remediate human rights risks related to the technology.” Microsoft committed in 2020 that it won’t sell facial ID technology to U.S. police departments before strong regulation, said the proposal: This “does not address potential sales to local, state or federal agencies, or to governments outside the U.S.” The company should align with its corporate peers on facial recognition sales, said the proposal: IBM announced in 2020 it won't offer general purpose facial ID. At least 23 U.S. municipalities since 2018 have adopted legal bans on facial ID, including King County, Washington, where Microsoft is headquartered, said the proposal. The board cited “extensive public commitments” to “restrict our sale of facial recognition technology based on human rights considerations.” The proposal “does not recognize those commitments and would impose a blunt prohibition that would deny public agencies the ability to deploy facial recognition technology in societally beneficial use cases,” said the proxy.