IRS Backtracks On Sketchy Facial Recognition Plan Following Public Outcry | Mashable

Activism, it turns out, still gets results. That’s the takeaway following a Monday morning announcement that the IRS intends to shift away from requiring Americans use a private facial-recognition service to verify their identities on the IRS website. The about face comes after sustained criticism from privacy experts, grassroots activists, and even elected officials. “This is big,” wrote Senator Ron Wyden Monday morning. “The IRS has notified my office it plans to transition away from using facial recognition verification, as I requested earlier today. While this transition may take time, the administration…

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The IRS Will Soon Make You Use Facial Recognition To Access Your Taxes Online | The Verge

he Internal Revenue Service will require people who access and pay their taxes online to enroll in a third-party facial recognition company starting this summer (h/t Krebs on Security). Even those who have already registered on IRS.gov with a username and password will have to provide a government ID, a copy of a utility bill, and a selfie to ID.me, the Virginia-based identity verification company. You’ll take a video selfie with whatever webcam or mobile device you’re using to sign up, which seems likely to cause problems for people with…

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