Members of Congress Call-On IRS to Reverse Facial Recognition Plans

Four different letters from members of Congress this week called on the IRS to reverse the plan. In the House, four Democrats issued a letter urging “the IRS to halt this plan and consult with a wide variety of stakeholders before deciding on an alternative.” Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) urged the IRS to abandon ID.me and use the federally run login.gov identity verification service. Senators Jeff Merkeley (D-OR) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) asked the IRS to “immediately discontinue any programs that collect, process, and store facial recognition or other types of biometric data of American taxpayers” and to “implement a comprehensive ban on the use of such biometric data collection at the agency.” And a group of 15 senior Senate Republicans stated their concerns with the privacy and cybersecurity risks created by tasking a private company with handling sensitive data for the IRS. EPIC Senior Counsel, Jeramie Scott, was on MSNBC this weekend discussing the privacy issues with IRS’s plan to use facial recognition technology.