By Nathalie Voit
Less than one month after the IRS announced it would require taxpayers to enter biometric data to access their online accounts, the agency has dropped the controversial facial recognition requirements amid an outcry from lawmakers and digital rights activists concerned about their privacy.
A statement from the agency released on Feb. 21 said that “a new option in the agency’s authentication system is now available for taxpayers to sign up for IRS online accounts without the use of any biometric data, including facial recognition.”
Taxpayers who do not wish to verify their identity using the ID.me verification method will have the option of confirming their identity via a “live, virtual interview” with ID.me agents. The IRS said that no biometric data – including facial recognition – will be collected for taxpayers who choose this option.
Additionally, the IRS strengthened its privacy and security requirements for taxpayers who opt to verify their identity through biometric authentication. For taxpayers who have already registered for an IRS online account and uploaded biometric data into the system, the agency said their data would be “permanently deleted” over the next few weeks.
The new changes to the agency’s authentication system arrive amid an uproar from privacy advocates and lawmakers about the digital identity verification requirements.
The agency announced in November 2021 its plans to shift a slew of its existing online services to the ID.me authentication method over the next year. An online account registration using third-party identity verification service ID.me would have been required to access basic digital tools and services on the IRS website, including the Child Tax Credit Update Portal or a copy of one’s tax transcripts.
However, the new and “improved” sign-in process would have required users to upload their biometric data in the form of a video selfie, sparking immediate criticism from a host of public actors on both sides of the aisle.
“The Treasury Department has made the smart decision to direct the IRS to transition away from using the controversial ID.me verification service, as I requested earlier today,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a statement on Monday in response to news that the agency had dropped the requirements, according to The Hill.
“I understand the transition process may take time, but I appreciate that the administration recognizes that privacy and security are not mutually exclusive, and no one should be forced to submit to facial recognition to access critical government services,” he added.
GOP leaders similarly sounded the alarm when news first came out of the IRS’s decision to partner with ID.me. Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee sent a letter to the IRS last week expressing their concerns about the program and requesting more information, The Hill said.
Other critics pointed out the inherent “racial and gender biases” of facial recognition software, warning they would discriminate against people of color.
The public controversy was enough to prompt the Treasury Department to reconsider its use of facial recognition technology.
“The IRS takes taxpayer privacy and security seriously, and we understand the concerns that have been raised,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig on Feb. 7 in a statement on the IRS website. “Everyone should feel comfortable with how their personal information is secured, and we are quickly pursuing short-term options that do not involve facial recognition.”
