As facial recognition technology gains a greater foothold in society, serving in a variety of capacities such as locating criminals in public places or unlocking devices such as smartphones, Microsoft’s Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith is urging officials to regulate the technology.

Recognizing the threat the technology poses to privacy and human rights, Smith is calling on government officials to set ground rules to govern the proper use of facial recognition technology.

“Imagine a government tracking everywhere you walked over the past month without your permission or knowledge," he said in a recent blog post. "Imagine a database of everyone who attended a political rally that constitutes the very essence of free speech."

Attendance and participation at such events, according to Smith, might make it possible for businesses to use that information to make decisions about employment opportunities, lending or credit scores — all without informing the customer of the reason for such decisions.

Though these science fiction scenarios seem the stuff of novels and movies, including “1984” and “Minority Report” to name just two, Smith cautions that these scenarios are "on the verge of becoming possible."

"These issues heighten responsibility for tech companies that create these products," Smith said. "In our view, they also call for thoughtful government regulation and for the development of norms around acceptable uses."

Though Microsoft has used the technology for years now to organize digital photographs, facial recognition software is improving, capable of recognizing more and more faces in real-time with each passing day.

"It may seem unusual for a company to ask for government regulation of its products, but there are many markets where thoughtful regulation contributes to a healthier dynamic for consumers and producers alike," Smith said.

"It seems especially important to pursue thoughtful government regulation of facial recognition technology, given its broad societal ramifications and potential for abuse."

"This has led us to turn down some customer requests for deployments of this service where we've concluded that there are greater human rights risks," Smith said.