IRS drops facial recognition verification after privacy concerns – CNET [CNET]

The IRS said Monday it will not use facial recognition to verify the identities of users of its site. Instead, it will implement other means to validate taxpayers’ information, and says this change will not impact the current tax season.

It follows the agency announcing in November it would make use of ID.me’s facial recognition services to verify identities on the IRS website by new users submitting a photo of themselves. This raised concerns over privacy in giving a third-party company access to personal information.

“The IRS takes taxpayer privacy and security seriously, and we understand the concerns that have been raised,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in an agency statement Monday. “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.”

It’s unclear if the IRS will still make use of ID.me’s services, as the agency did have a window of summer 2022 when all online accounts would require an ID.me account. The IRS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

ID.me announced Tuesday it has enabled a new option for people to verify their identity without using automated facial recognition, and offer it to government agencies.

“We have listened to the feedback about facial recognition and are making this important change, adding an option for users to verify directly with a human agent,” said Blake Hall, ID.me CEO. “In recent weeks, we have modified our process … agencies can now select this configuration.”

All ID.me users will also b able to delete any photos on their account from March 1.