https://www.accountingtoday.co...&bt_ts=1644231729338


Republicans in Congress are raising concerns about the Internal Revenue Service’s move to use facial recognition technology to authenticate taxpayers before they can access their online accounts, introducing a bill that would ban the practice.

The IRS has contracted with ID.me, a third-party provider of authentication technology, to help deter identity theft by requiring taxpayers to send a selfie along with an image of a government document like a passport or driver’s license before they can access their online taxpayer account or use tools like Get Transcript (see story). Although the new technology is intended to protect taxpayers from cybercriminals, it also has raised privacy concerns. The IRS has emphasized that taxpayers won’t need such measures to file their taxes or pay taxes online. The agency began rolling out the technology this year for new taxpayer accounts and it’s expected to be in place by this summer for existing accounts as well.

The Treasury is already looking into alternatives to ID.me over privacy concerns amid reports that the company has amassed images of tens of millions of faces from its contracts with other federal and state government agencies and businesses (see story). But if Congress bans the use of such technology, or discourages the IRS from requiring it, that could prompt the agency to find other ways to authenticate users besides selfies.

I really do not want the Government protecting me. More hassle getting information you need and spending the taxpayers money as well. How about having people answer phones and give correct answers to simple questions.

UPDATE: The IRS said in a statement Monday that it will "transition away from using a third-party verification service involving facial recognition." The IRS said it will bring online an "additional authentication process" that doesn't use facial recognition technology, and work with other partners in government to come up with ways to authenticate taxpayers that "protect taxpayer data and ensure broad access to online tools." It did not explain what that authentication process will include.

I tried to pay my federal taxes on line about 2 or 3 years ago and there was no way I could prove who I was just to pay them money.... go figure.

Potential thread-jack warning, not IRS related.

So I regularly work the VCDL table at the Showmaster's "Nation's Gun Show" in Chantilly, VA. Last Saturday just after my shift a show employee made an announcement over the PA that "it's OK to wear a mask, it's OK to wear a hat, but it is not allowed to wear anything that completely covers your head." A sew moments later, she continued, "we have two or three guns stolen from tables each show, these are the ones that end up in crimes." From this, I conclude that "the authorities," perhaps the state police, the ATF, or DHS are doing facial recognition at the gun show. Or, maybe just trying to give the perception that they are doing so. If the latter, why not just say so? If so, it is almost certainly going to be correlated with anything the IRS (and ATF) might be doing to establish a national database of gun owners.

or perhaps it's just like the banks request to remove helmets and any face coverings when entering to deter any would-be thieves - and about as successful.