By Fatima Hussein
The IRS said Monday it will suspend the use of facial recognition technology to authenticate people who create online accounts after the practice was criticized by privacy advocates and lawmakers.
The agency said it would no longer use a third-party service, called ID.me, for facial recognition. Critics of the software said the database could become a target for cyberthreats. They also expressed concern about how the information could be used by other government agencies, among other concerns.
Earlier Monday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on the agency to end its use of the ID.me software. After the IRS announced the practice would be suspended, Wyden said "the Treasury Department has made the smart decision to direct the IRS to transition away from using the controversial ID.me verification service.”
"No one should be forced to submit to facial recognition to access critical government services,” he added.
The IRS is currently grappling with a worker shortage and an expanded workload from processing tax filings and administering pandemic-related programs. Legislation that would have given the agency billions of dollars to more expeditiously process returns is stalled.
“The IRS takes taxpayer privacy and security seriously, and we understand the concerns that have been raised,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
“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.”
The agency said the transition would occur “over the coming weeks in order to prevent larger disruptions to taxpayers during filing season.”
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg has ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and has endorsed Joe Biden.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 785 points and bond prices surged after an emergency interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve failed to reassure markets racked by worries that a fast-spreading virus outbreak could lead to a recession.
HotelPlanner CEO Tim Hentschel told Cheddar that the travel industry is taking the worst hit it has seen in nearly two decades thanks to the coronavirus outbreak paralyzing multiple countries.
Stocks are whipping up and down after the Federal Reserve swooped into the market with an emergency rate cut in hopes of shielding the economy from the effects of the fast-spreading virus. Tuesday's surprise move gave stocks a strong, brief boost, but it took just 15 minutes for the gains to evaporate.
Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference that the virus “will surely weigh on economic activity both here and abroad for some time.” It was the Fed's first rate cut since last year, when it reduced its key short-term rate three times.
The Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by a half-percentage point in its first emergency rate cut since the Great Recession in response to the spreading coronavirus.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Dow Jones skyrockets on hopes central banks protect the economy from the coronavirus outbreak.
