The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will cease to use the Facial Recognition system from its supposed company, ID.me, after receiving complaints about its privacy. Users are wary to share their face or identity for the biometrics but it took more of a toll on ID.me instead of the government agency as the public raised concerns against the company.
IRS Facial Recognition: Ends Contract with ID.me
The IRS announced in a press release that it now ends its facial recognition requirement with ID.me for taxpayers to verify their identity online. The supposed requirement would need a face scan with ID.me before it links to their account with the IRS and needs to verify their identity every time they access the database to pay their taxes online.
It is important to note that ID.me is a third-party company in this transaction and the general public was wary about entrusting their biometrics and personal information to others. The move of the IRS received great criticism and doubt from the public, especially with the use of an outside hire to hold sensitive information that could be used against the owners.
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IRS and ID.me's Facial Recognition Privacy Concerns
ID.Me's CEO Blake Hall admitted via LinkedIn that the company uses a "one to many" approach on facial recognition despite initially admitting that it did not use such methods. The public became more doubtful of the company and its capabilities to correctly verify a person's identity to their database for when accessing one's online taxes.
The IRS said that it takes on privacy seriously and with that, it ended its contract with ID.me and its system.
IRS: No More Requirements for Paying Taxes?
Towards the end of January, people received the news that has talked about a new system within the IRS about a facial recognition requirement before paying taxes. The new system would use ID.me's software to verify the identity and keep an online database for the faces of the taxpayers before accessing their online taxes.
However, the public cast a shadow of doubt all over this move of the IRS and talked about the security and privacy of entrusting their identities and personal information over the partner company. Privacy concerns also rose after the clickbait scams of the coronavirus Stimulus checks from the government after fake ones circulated in the past years.
The IRS aims to have a verified system and one that will use a biometric requirement online to authenticate one's account and correctly identify the taxpayer. The concerns of the public about handing out their personal information and face to ID.me is also a valid topic, especially that it would entrust their identities to the said company.
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Written by Isaiah Richard
