News

Washington Post: IRS wants to scan your face

January 27, 2022

“You go from a government agency, that at least has some obligation under the Privacy Act and other laws, to a third party, where [there’s a] lack of transparency and understanding, and the potential risks go up,” Scott said.

“We haven’t even gone the step of putting regulations in place and deciding if facial recognition should even be used like this,” he added. “We’re just skipping right to the use of a technology that has clearly been shown to be dangerous and has issues with accuracy, disproportionate impact, privacy and civil liberties.”

The IRS said in a statement that ID.me’s services will “create a better user experience” and that it “takes any reports of inequities in service seriously.” Federal records show the Treasury entered into the two-year contract covering ID.me software and maintenance last summer.

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