{"id":12414,"date":"2022-02-11T22:44:17","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T22:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/11\/irs-sent-7-million-americans-to-id-me-what-happens-to-them-now\/"},"modified":"2022-02-11T22:44:17","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T22:44:17","slug":"irs-sent-7-million-americans-to-id-me-what-happens-to-them-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/11\/irs-sent-7-million-americans-to-id-me-what-happens-to-them-now\/","title":{"rendered":"IRS sent 7 million Americans to ID.me. What happens to them now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the letter, Maloney also pressed IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on plans to instruct the provider, ID.me, to destroy the biometric data and on how the agency will ensure that ID.me does not use the data for \u201cunapproved or unauthorized purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThose Americans\u2019 highly personal information may continue to be held by a third party outside of the IRS\u2019s direct control \u2014 increasing the potential for exposure due to bad actors and other cybersecurity incidents,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The letter follows weeks of controversy over the program, which would have required anyone who wanted to access tax-related records online to record a video of their face with their computer or smartphone. The IRS announced on Monday that it would abandon those plans amid backlash from members of Congress and privacy advocates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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ID.me said on Wednesday<\/a> that it would drop the facial recognition requirement in its software, which is used by 30 states and 10 federal agencies. The company also told The Washington Post that effective March 1, anyone would be able to delete their selfie or photo data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Maloney wants answers about how the IRS will oversee these steps or how it may affect the agency\u2019s record retention process. She also raised concerns that the IRS\u2019s \u201cabout-face\u201d on its two-year, $86 million contract could negatively affect taxpayers. She asked Rettig how much money has already been expended on the contract and how much it would cost to terminate it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The letter follows years of controversy over the government\u2019s expanding use of facial recognition software, despite warnings from the General Services Administration that the face-scanning technology has too many problems to justify its use. In 2019, House lawmakers held hearings on the impact of the technology and the ways that it can discriminate against women and people of color.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There is no federal law regulating how facial recognition can be used or how it should be secured.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis technology remains virtually unregulated, and increasing transparency and accountability is crucial,\u201d Maloney wrote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Tuesday, six Republican senators said they would introduce a bill<\/a> that would bar the IRS from requiring taxpayers to submit face scans or other biometric data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Maloney also writes that 13 percent of ID.me users since June had struggled to use the software and were referred to customer service, where representatives would attempt to verify their identities over video chat. The letter says this underscores the \u201cwidespread issues related to the use of the nascent facial recognition technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n