Civil rights groups criticize Amazon's facial recognition system.

(Reuters)- Several U.S. civil rights activist groups complained on Tuesday that Amazon.com's real-time facial recognition system, Rekognition, is helping the government monitor large crowds, violating civil and digital rights.

“We demand that Amazon stop fueling a government surveillance infrastructure that poses a grave threat to customers and communities across the country,” several organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote in a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Rekognition helps analyze tens of millions of faces and detect up to 100 faces in photos with significant distortions, and counts the Orlando Police Department among its clients.

“This product (Rekognition) represents a serious threat to communities, including people of color and immigrants, and to the trust and respect that Amazon has worked to build,” the letter said.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.