A former employee has accused Amazon of violating UK sanctions by selling facial recognition technology to Moscow after it invaded Ukraine. The Financial Times informed.
Charles Forrest claimed he was wrongfully fired in 2023 after accusing Amazon of wrongdoing on a number of issues between November 2022 and May 2023, the article said. The claims were submitted to a London employment tribunal as part of a hearing this week.
Forrest said Amazon has a deal with a Russian firm VisionLabs to secure his exit Recognition facial recognition technology. He did so “through a shell company based in the Netherlands,” according to court documents. He also accused the company of violating a self-imposed moratorium on police use of facial recognition technology. carried out After the murder of George Floyd.
Amazon has denied the claims. “We believe the allegations are without merit and look forward to demonstrating this through the legal process,” the spokesperson said. FT. “Based on available evidence and billing records, AWS did not sell Amazon Rekognition services to VisionLabs.”
Amazon claims Forrest was fired for “gross misconduct” after he refused to work contractual hours and failed to respond to emails or attend meetings. He denied that Forrest made statements that would have entitled him to whistleblower protection.
Amazon has admitted to violating a police ban on the use of facial recognition technology, adding that it has not broken any laws. “A self-imposed moratorium does not constitute a legal obligation,” he said.
