Microsoft on Friday became the first tech giant to join a growing call for regulations to limit the use of facial recognition technology.

In a lengthy blog post about the potential uses and abuses of facial recognition, Bradford L. Smith, the company’s president, compared the technology to products like medicines and cars that are highly regulated, and he urged Congress to study it and oversee its use.

“We live in a nation of laws, and the government needs to play an important role in regulating facial recognition technology,” Mr. Smith wrote. He added: “A world with vigorous regulation of products that are useful but potentially troubling is better than a world devoid of legal standards.”

Tech giants rarely advocate regulation of their innovations, and Mr. Smith’s unusual entreaty illustrates how powerful technologies involving artificial intelligence — including facial recognition — have set off a contentious battle among tech executives. These technologies have the potential to remake industries. They could also reduce workers’ job prospects or result in unequal opportunities for consumers, leading some to argue that the products are too risky for tech companies to deploy without government oversight.