A former employee claims that Amazon supplied facial recognition technology to the Russian government, violating UK sanctions against Russia.
The complaint, filed by former employee Charles Forrest, alleges that Amazon Web Services (AWS) was involved in the “illegal supply of facial recognition technology to Russian national security agencies.”
Russia has been under British sanctions since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Forrest's complaint, first reported by the Financial Times, also includes allegations that AWS' facial recognition technology, Rekognition, was sold to VisionLabs, a company owned by Russian telecommunications company MTS. Forrest is suing the company in court for wrongful termination.
He alleges that Amazon sold facial recognition technology to Vision Labs in 2020 and that the technology was used by Moscow authorities after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Amazon denies that Forrest was wrongfully fired or that he sold any technology to the company.
“Based on the available evidence and billing records, AWS did not sell Amazon Rekognition services to VisionLabs,” the company said.
The allegations were made in legal statements at a preliminary hearing in Mr Forrest's unfair dismissal case at an Employment Tribunal in central London.
AWS is Amazon's cloud computing division and one of the largest parts of billionaire founder Jeff Bezos' empire.
Rekognition software is frequently used by police in the US, raising concerns about privacy violations. In 2019, some activist Amazon shareholders tried to block the sale of the technology, which the activists called “perhaps the most dangerous surveillance technology ever developed.” They lost.
Some of Vision Labs' technology has also been deployed in the Moscow Metro by transport authorities, where it has reportedly been in place since the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Reuters has reported that facial recognition technology in Moscow has helped suppress dissent against President Putin.
Forrest worked for Amazon Web Services from 2019 until May 2023. He claims he was unfairly fired despite having a warning period starting in 2022, up until his termination a year later.
Amazon claims he was fired for gross misconduct after refusing to work the hours required by his contract.
Forrest also alleges that Amazon sold facial recognition technology to British police, despite a one-year ban on the use of the technology following the killing of George Floyd.
Amazon denied that it had breached any legal obligations in the matter.
“We believe these allegations are without merit and intend to defend them through the legal process,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
A VisionLabs spokesperson said, “We have never been involved in any contractual relationship with Amazon.”
