Smith cautioned that giants like Microsoft, Amazon, IBM stepping back entirely from facial recognition could mean smaller companies rushing in to fill the vacuum.
"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," he said.
Dr. Nakeema Stefflbauer voiced similar concerns that less well-known companies could start touting facial recognition to police.
"From a US perspective, these announcements confirm the serious harm that unregulated facial recognition technology in the hands of law enforcement has already caused Black and other [minority] groups to suffer," said Stefflbauer.
Dr. Steffblauer added that smaller vendors such as Clearview, Kairos, and PredPol could continue selling facial recognition tech without new laws, both in the US and the EU.
She added: "In my opinion, this is the moment when US and EU governments must take technology regulation seriously and pass comprehensive legislation: failure to do so is nothing less than giving permission for an unchecked assault on human rights."
In an email to Business Insider Joy Buolamwini, who looked at bias in Amazon's facial recognition tech, also stressed the need for a regulatory framework.
"We cannot rely on self-regulation or hope companies will choose to reign in harmful deployments of the technologies they develop," she said.
"The first step is to press pause, not just company-wide, but nationwide."