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IRS abandons facial recognition plan after firestorm of criticism

The agency had planned to require taxpayers send video scans of their face to a private company starting this summer

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Updated February 7, 2022 at 4:04 p.m. EST|Published February 7, 2022 at 2:13 p.m. EST
The IRS sys it will stop using facial recognition technology to authenticate people who create online accounts after the practice came under criticism from privacy advocates and lawmakers. (Susan Walsh/AP)
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The Internal Revenue Service has abandoned its plan to require millions of Americans to submit to a facial recognition check through a private company to access their online tax accounts following a firestorm of criticism from privacy advocates and members of Congress.

The IRS said Monday it would “transition away” from using a face-scanning service offered by the company ID.me in the coming weeks and would develop an additional authentication process that does not involve facial recognition. The IRS said it would also continue to work with “cross-government partners” on additional methods of authentication, but it did not provide a precise time frame for the change or say what the additional authentication process might entail.