IRS FACIAL RECOGNITION PLAN

IRS facial recognition plan. Late last year, the IRS showed us a plan aimed at being able to identify a taxpayer through a third party facial recognition company. The decision wasn't met kindly by many as privacy concerns were quickly pointed out. The company contracted to do the facial recognition, ID.me, sparked privacy concerns among politicians and digital rights advocates for their methods. The IRS later announced it would "transition away" from requiring video selfies to log into accounts, check previous filings or use other online tools and come up with another way. Now the agency has a new plan to verify identities without taxpayers providing any biometric data. But facial recognition is once again in the news. IRS facial recognition plan.

In a series of Tweet, the American Civil Liberties Union said that the plan to use facial recognition was deeply troubling, specifically that the technology is "less accurate for people of color". This is in addition to ID.me's software sporadically failing to identify people or attribute the wrong account to a taxpayer. That, and that the facial recognition software also poses a huge barrier for people unfamiliar with the technology and those without a stable internet connection. When the IRS announced that it would no longer be using ID.me, the agency said it would soon develop a verification process that doesn't involve facial recognition. Two weeks later, those details were announced. The new plan for the IRS involves verifying identities through virtual interviews, using ID.me According to the news release issued by the IRS, taxpayers now have the option to verify their identities during live, virtual interviews with agents. The agency stresses that no biometric data will be required for those interviews.

Taxpayers once again have the option to verify their identity using ID.me's facial recognition system. Addressing privacy concerns, the IRS says new requirements are in place to ensure that images provided will be deleted upon verification. For those with tax debts, who are trying to obtain tax transcripts, a better option would be to contact a Tax Resolution Company. One that can obtain your tax transcripts without contacting the IRS Collection Division.