Smile! You're on IRS Camera

[BobKamman]

If you created an online account to manage your tax records with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), those login credentials will cease to work later this year. The agency says that by the summer of 2022, the only way to log in to irs.gov will be through ID.me, an online identity verification service that requires applicants to submit copies of bills and identity documents, as well as a live video feed of their faces via a mobile device.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/01/irs-will-soon-require-selfies-for-online-access/ 

[sjrcpa]

It will apply to tax professionals for eservices, too.

[Taxprohere]

Not a live video feed.  A digital photo.  

[BobKamman]

From Bloomberg Friday night (when IRS always makes announcements that make them look bad):

The Treasury Department is reconsidering the Internal Revenue Service’s reliance on facial recognition software ID.me for access to its website, an official said Friday amid scrutiny of the company’s collection of images of tens of millions of Americans’ faces.

Treasury and the IRS are looking for alternatives to ID.me, a department official said, but did not specify  the agencies are attentive to concerns around the software. The company has faced growing criticism over its software and its use of facial recognition technology.

“The IRS is consistently looking for ways to make the filing process more secure,” spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna said in a statement to Bloomberg News. 

[sjrcpa]

Things just go from bad to worse.

I read that and several other pieces on this. Amazon had to stop using the face recognition "technology" with law enforcement agencies because it appeared to be racially biased. A test on members of Congress matched a number of them to criminals' mug shots (maybe not so far fetched), etc.

I'm glad i did not jump on this bandwagon. My eservices account will still let me in until summer 2022. Then what? The wheels of government do not move fast enough to have something else in place by then.

Guess I'm not telling any clients to set up online accounts with the IRS.

A couple of says ago I was in an online meeting where the head of OPR was saying how wonderful and easy ID.me was. Think she'll change her tune?

[BobKamman]

@sjrcpa   Speaking of Amazon -- nothing would have happened had the Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, not published a story Thursday about  this.  

When I worked at National Office, the worst fear was that some stupid IRS move would end up "in the funny papers"  --- meaning the comics section of the Washington Post, where Jack Anderson's "Washington Merry-Go-Round" column appeared.  

[BobKamman]

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports today:

Even as the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies are pushing to require Americans to consent to facial recognition to sign on to government websites, the government’s central management office has refused to use the technology on its own secure log-in service, Login.gov.

The General Services Administration, which oversees federal offices and technology, says the face-scanning technology has too many problems to justify its use as an identity-verification service.

Dave Zvenyach, director of the GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, told The Washington Post that the agency “is committed to not deploying facial recognition … or any other emerging technology for use with government benefits and services until rigorous review has given us confidence that we can do so equitably and without causing harm to vulnerable populations.”

And Bloomberg News adds this:

A senior Senate Democrat is urging the Internal Revenue Service to abandon the use of a facial recognition software for taxpayers to access their documents online.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden told the IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a letter Monday that the agency should not require taxpayers to use a third-party commercial facial recognition software, ID.me, to access their tax documents online. The IRS had previously said it would require people to upload images of their face to access their tax records from prior years starting this summer.

[BobKamman]

And, to make a long story short, the Commissioner can now go help process tax returns instead of dithering over dumb decisions:

IRS announces transition away from use of third-party verification involving facial recognition

WASHINGTON − The IRS announced it will transition away from using a third-party service for facial recognition to help authenticate people creating new online accounts. The transition will occur over the coming weeks in order to prevent larger disruptions to taxpayers during filing season.

During the transition, the IRS will quickly develop and bring online an additional authentication process that does not involve facial recognition. The IRS will also continue to work with its cross-government partners to develop authentication methods that protect taxpayer data and ensure broad access to online tools.

“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 transition announced today does not interfere with the taxpayer’s ability to file their return or pay taxes owed. During this period, the IRS will continue to accept tax filings, and it has no other impact on the current tax season. People should continue to file their taxes as they normally would.