IBM decided to shut down its facial recognition products and announce its decision as the death of George Floyd brought the topic of police reform and racial inequity into the forefront of the national conversation, a person familiar with the situation told CNBC. It follows testimony from Joy Buolamwini, founder of Algorithmic Justice League, before Congress last year, about her research for MIT into the bias she found in facial recognition software.

The ACLU welcomed the decision and urged IBM's competitors to do the same.

Krishna's letter also expressed support for the Justice in Policing Act, a legislative package introduced by congressional Democrats on Monday..

In a statement, ACLU senior legislative counsel Kanya Bennett urged lawmakers to avoid investing in surveillance infrastructure as they look to address policing issues around the country.

"We need to invest in technologies that can help eliminate the digital divide," said Bennett, "not technologies that create a surveillance infrastructure that exacerbates policing abuses and structural racism."

Republished from Common Dreams (Eoin Higgins, staff writer) under a Creative Commons License.