ACLU: Companies can't fight racism until they see they're upholding it

Seattle-based corporate giants unleashed a torrent of messages condemning the death of black men at the hands of police and calling for an end to racism. But the ACLU says companies need to acknowledge "the role they play in upholding it. "

Jennifer Lee of the American Civil Liberties Union says that acknowledgement would allow companies to take meaningful steps to protect people and "work to rectify their complicity in fueling racism in this country."

Seattle-based Lee heads the ACLU's Technology and Liberty project. She says the tech products that companies like Amazon and Microsoft are selling to police forces and governments are in direct conflict with their anti-racist positions.

"The technology used, and its impact on civil liberties are intrinsically tied to systemic racism in our country," she said. "If companies like Amazon continue to sell technologies like facial recognition, contract with agencies like ICE, they are fueling what we've seen over the past week. They're fueling the killings of black and brown lives and that is something that they must acknowledge.”

Amazon says it sees no evidence that its clients are misusing facial recognition technology. It says it stands with the Black community in the fight against racism.