Microsoft has joined technology rivals Amazon and IBM in stating that it will not sell facial recognition technology to police departments in the U.S., adding that it does not sell that technology today and is in favor of a national law to oversee the control of the technology.

Brad Smith, president Microsoft, made the statement as part of a Washington Post live event. During the event, Smith was prompted to respond to recent moves by IBM and Amazon in stating they would not sell facial recognition technology to U.S. law enforcement tied to the ongoing protests against racism and police brutality triggered by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.

“We've decided that we will not sell facial recognition technology to police departments in the United States until we have a national law in place, grounded in human rights, that will govern this technology and will also put in place some additional review factors,” Smith said. “The No. 1 point that I would really underscore is this: We need to use this moment to pursue a strong national law to govern facial recognition that is grounded in the protection of human rights.”

The ability for facial recognition technology to discern between different races and genders has been an ongoing issue. IBM admitted to CNBC last year that it was working to broaden the data sets available for training of its facial recognition efforts. That came on the heels of an MIT report that found AI facial recognition technology more error prone when dealing with race and gender outside of light-skinned males.

IBM on Monday said it will no longer sell general purpose IBM facial recognition or analysis software. IBM CEO Arvind Kirshna wrote in a letter to Congress that the company also “opposes and will not condone uses of any technology … offered by other vendors” for the purpose of “mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms, or any purpose which is not consistent with our values and Principles of Trust and Transparency.”

On Monday, House Democrats introduced a police reform bill that would prohibit federal law enforcement’s use of real-time facial recognition technology.

Amazon, by comparison, said it would not sell the technology for 1 year. It also stated a similar claim to Microsoft that there needs to be government regulation in place to govern the use of facial recognition technology.

Microsoft’s Smith also hinted at the commercial ramifications of the move.

“I think it's important to see what IBM has done. I think it is important to recognize what Amazon has done. It is obviously similar to what we are doing,” Smith said. “But if all of the responsible companies in the country cede this market to those that are not prepared to take a stand, we won't necessarily serve the national interest or the lives of the black and African-American people of this nation well. We need Congress to act, not just tech companies alone. That is the only way that we will guarantee that we will protect the lives of people.”