S.T.O.P. Condemns IRS Facial Recognition Requirement For Tax Filers

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns IRS Facial Recognition Requirement For Tax Filers (New York, NY, 1/21/2021) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based civil rights group, condemned the Internal Revenue Services' proposed requirement that tax filers use facial recognition starting this summer to access the IRS website. Americans will no longer be able to pay IRS assessments or check their tax records without being scanned by the private biometric surveillance firm id.ME. The civil rights group warned that federal law will permit the IRS to share biometric data with intelligence agencies and the police. SEE: Gizmodo - IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes Online https://gizmodo.com/irs-will-require-facial-recognition-scans-to-access-you-1848387715 Business Insider - The IRS will start using facial recognition this summer — and you'll have to send off a selfie if you want to pay your taxes online https://www.businessinsider.com/irs-online-taxes-facial-recognition-selfies-2022-1 “Facial recognition is biased, error prone, and invasive,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “We shouldn’t have to forfeit our face just to pay a tax bill. It’s a question of when, not if, this biometric data is hacked, leaked or misused. We also have no accountability for when Americans are wrongly blocked by id.ME because the software doesn’t recognize them. When millions of Americans have limited computer connectivity, how will they now be able to access their tax records?” “Being forced to trust our most sensitive data to a government contractor to access our tax files is a hamfisted way to solve the IRS’s fraud problems while pushing the real risks to American citizens” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Technology Director Jackie Singh. The IRS announcement comes after a recent report from the Government Accountability Office shared that 20 federal agencies reported using facial recognition, including six agencies that used the technology to track Black Lives Matter protesters. S.T.O.P. condemned the IRS plan to process facial recognition data and other sensitive information through ID.me, a private identity verification firm used by e-commerce sites to track retail customers. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Condemns G.A.O. Facial Recognition Findings, Calls For Ban https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2021/6/30/stop-condemns-gao-facial-recognition-findings-calls-for-ban FastCompany - IRS login makes you take a selfie for this security company you’ve never heard of https://www.fastcompany.com/90714538/irs-login-makes-you-take-a-selfie-for-this-security-company-youve-never-heard-of Cahn continued, “While there’s no evidence that this sort of measure will be helpful, we have ample reason to fear these new tools will be misused. If the Biden Administration is truly committed to civil rights, they shouldn't normalize this sort of biased and anti-democratic technology.” The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. -- END -- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.