X

IRS drops facial recognition verification after privacy concerns

"We are quickly pursuing short-term options that do not involve facial recognition," says the IRS commissioner.

Oscar Gonzalez Former staff reporter
Oscar Gonzalez is a Texas native who covered video games, conspiracy theories, misinformation and cryptocurrency.
Expertise Video Games, Misinformation, Conspiracy Theories, Cryptocurrency, NFTs, Movies, TV, Economy, Stocks
See full bio
Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
Expertise News, mobile, broadband, 5G, home tech, streaming services, entertainment, AI, policy, business, politics Credentials
  • I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
See full bio
Oscar Gonzalez
Corinne Reichert
2 min read
The IRS won't need to see your face this tax season

The IRS won't need to see your face this tax season. 

 Angela Lang/CNET

The IRS said Monday it won't 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 won't impact the current tax season.

The announcement follows the agency saying 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," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said 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 said 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," Blake Hall, ID.me CEO, said in a statement. "In recent weeks, we have modified our process ... agencies can now select this configuration."

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