By Fatima Hussein
The IRS said Monday it will suspend the use of facial recognition technology to authenticate people who create online accounts after the practice was criticized by privacy advocates and lawmakers.
The agency said it would no longer use a third-party service, called ID.me, for facial recognition. Critics of the software said the database could become a target for cyberthreats. They also expressed concern about how the information could be used by other government agencies, among other concerns.
Earlier Monday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on the agency to end its use of the ID.me software. After the IRS announced the practice would be suspended, Wyden said "the Treasury Department has made the smart decision to direct the IRS to transition away from using the controversial ID.me verification service.”
"No one should be forced to submit to facial recognition to access critical government services,” he added.
The IRS is currently grappling with a worker shortage and an expanded workload from processing tax filings and administering pandemic-related programs. Legislation that would have given the agency billions of dollars to more expeditiously process returns is stalled.
“The IRS takes taxpayer privacy and security seriously, and we understand the concerns that have been raised,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
“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.”
The agency said the transition would occur “over the coming weeks in order to prevent larger disruptions to taxpayers during filing season.”
A car plowed into a parked SUV that was guarding President Joe Biden’s motorcade Sunday night while the president was leaving a visit to his campaign headquarters.
Negotiators insist they are making progress, but a hoped-for framework did not emerge. The talks come as Donald Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner in 2024, delivered alarming anti-immigrant remarks about “blood” purity over the weekend, echoing Nazi slogans of World War II at a political rally.
The Supreme Court decided to leave in place a ban on semi-automatic weapons in the state of Illinois.
The Senate passed a bill giving retroactive pay increases to those service members who may have been affected by the hold on military promotions caused by Senator Tommy Tuberville.
Jurors are expected to resume deliberations this morning in a case that centers on how much Donald Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani must pay in his damages defamation trial.
President Biden said Israel needs to be more careful when it comes to civilian deaths in its war with Hamas as the next phase of the war is weeks away.
The White House has unveiled a list of 48 drugs that drugmakers will have to pay rebates to the federal government on due to raising their prices higher than the cost of inflation during this year.
The European Council announced it will open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova to join the group.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said former President Trump's policies toward China have left the nation "more vulnerable" and more isolated in the global economy.
A federal grand jury in Montana has indicted two men accused of killing about 3,600 birds, including bald eagles and golden eagles, and selling them on the black market.
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