The firm said it would not start sales to US police departments until the country approves national regulation of the technology, which critics say is racially biased and easy to abuse.

Amazon and IBM have already made similar moves.

These followed widespread protests over police brutality and racial discrimination.

Amazon on Wednesday banned police from using its tech for one year, while IBM earlier said it would stop offering the technology for "mass surveillance or racial profiling".

The American Civil Liberties Union has campaigned against such software for years, warning there is a danger it will be used to for widespread "suspicionless" surveillance.

"Microsoft, Amazon and IBM have finally started to take action. But we still have a long way to go to forever end the over-policing and surveillance of black and brown communities," the organisation said in a statement.

It called on US lawmakers to order an immediate "pause" on law enforcement use of the technology.

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