S.T.O.P. Welcomes IRS Decision To Stop Facial Recognition, Calls On States To Do Same

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Welcomes IRS Decision To Stop Facial Recognition, Calls On States To Do Same (New York, NY, 2/7/2021) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based civil rights group, welcomed the Internal Revenue Services' decision to discontinue use of facial recognition to access the IRS website. Americans will continue to be able to pay IRS assessments and check their tax records without being scanned by the private biometric surveillance firm id.ME. The civil rights group previously warned that federal law will permit the IRS to share biometric data with intelligence agencies and the police. S.T.O.P. also continued calls for state and local governments to also cease use of ID.ME SEE: I.R.S. to End Use of Facial Recognition for Identity Verification https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/politics/irs-idme-facial-recognition.html “Today the IRS made the right call, but it shouldn’t have taken national outrage to stop this,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “The IRS should never have explored this technology in the first place. Facial recognition is biased, error prone, and invasive We should never have to forfeit our face just to pay a tax bill. When government agencies use this technology, it’s question of when, not if, this biometric data is hacked, leaked or misused. Under the IRS’s previous plan, we had no accountability for when Americans were wrongly blocked by id.ME because the software doesn’t recognize them. Now we call on state and local governments to follow suit and ditch ID.Me” "While we can celebrate the IRS's rapid policy reversal on their use of ID.me as a major victory against surveillance, this was just one win against the myriad surveillance technologies increasingly encroaching on every aspect of American life," said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Technology Director Jackie Singh. "We would like to take a moment to thank the anti-surveillance advocates who fought with us and join us in our continued calls on federal, state, and local governments to stop shifting the negative impacts of biometric data collection onto their citizens." Last month, the civil rights group denounced the IRS’s used of id.me. It also joined Fight For The Future and other partners to call on the public to “Dump ID.me.” The previous year, the group criticized state governments for using the facial recognition vendor to screen applicants for unemployment insurance. Today, 27 states us ID.me to screen public benefit applicants, including applicants for employment insurance. SEE: S.T.O.P. Condemns IRS Facial Recognition Requirement For Tax Filers https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2022/1/21/stop-condemns-irs-facial-recognition-requirement-for-tax-filers WIRED – Facial Verification Won't Fight Fraud https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-facial-verification-wont-fight-fraud/   Dump ID.ME Campaign Site https://www.dumpid.me/ Cahn continued, “We see a national consensus against facial recognition technology. But while Americans were right to speak out against this IRS proposal, they’re wrong to ignore how we’re scanning those applying for unemployment insurance and other benefits. No one should have to hand over their biometric data to access what they’re entitled to by law.” 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.