The Internal Revenue Service will stop using controversial facial-recognition software for taxpayers trying to access online tax accounts over concerns about privacy and security.
The transition from the ID.me, the third-party verification system that required taxpayers to upload video selfies to access their tax information online, will begin in the coming weeks, the IRS said Monday. The IRS said it would add additional verification tools that don’t involve facial recognition, but didn’t specify how those would work.
The use of the software has been the subject of bipartisan criticism from lawmakers in recent weeks because of concerns about privacy as well as questions about racial bias embedded in the program.
