This summer the IRS will require users to log in via ID.me, which uses facial recognition in its authentication process, to file taxes, make payments, and more
Users will have to submit sensitive government documents, their social security number, credit history, and a facial scan to third-party company ID.me.
GizmodoMack DeGeurin
Context & Ripple Effects
The IRS’s plan made ID.me a gatekeeper for online tax-account actions, requiring taxpayers to provide government documents, Social Security numbers, credit history, and a facial scan to a third party. ID.me’s pitch was tied to identity verification for IRS.gov logins, following its broader push into government identity checks.
Taxpayers seeking to file, pay, or manage taxes online face an ID.me identity-verification step and must transmit sensitive identity data to the vendor.
ID.me gains a central role in IRS online access, but its facial-recognition workflow becomes the focal point of public and political scrutiny.
Second-order effects
The backlash forces the IRS to preserve a non-biometric route through virtual interviews, adding a human-assisted path alongside automated verification.
ID.me’s decision to make automated facial recognition optional shifts pressure onto government customers to choose—and justify—their identity-checking method.
Third-order effects
Government digital services are likely to face stronger demands for alternative access paths when biometric verification is embedded in essential public transactions.
The episode points to access-layer vendors being judged not only on fraud prevention but also on whether their data collection and appeal paths are acceptable for public-service access.
The trend: Essential government portals are moving toward third-party digital identity systems, with biometric checks constrained by demands for consent and non-biometric alternatives.
The IRS says by mid-2022, the only way to log in to https://irs.gov/ will be through https://id.me/, an ID verification service where applicants have to submit copies of bills/ID documents, as well as live selfies via a webcam or mobile. https://krebsonsecurity.com/ ...
@ozzthegr8
@ozzthegr8 on x
US: charges me tax even though I don't live there anymore and am paying tax to the country in which I am living Also US: wants to make it impossible for me to actually pay the damn thing https://twitter.com/...
@dawnxianamoon
Dawn Xiana Moon on x
Yikes. This is massive amounts of personal data going to a private company. With no realistic opt out. And crappy UX. https://twitter.com/...
@donmoyn
Don Moynihan on x
Private companies extracting rents by offering to reduce administrative burdens while also increasing burdens for their customers and everyone else https://twitter.com/...
@meanhash
@meanhash on x
This is not a joke. The IRS requires you to full dox now to access your own records or to make any changes to tax payments. Full video recording, pictures, IDs, the works. Going to be the most comprehensive government facial recognition database ever. https://gizmodo.com/...
@libbycwatson
Libby Watson on x
sort of insane how this company—whose product does not work reliably—has embedded itself in government functions across the country https://twitter.com/...
@dogsrul94605547
@dogsrul94605547 on x
Submit a selfie & all personal docs to a 3rd party. What could go wrong? “IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes”. https://gizmodo.com/...
@chancerubbage
@chancerubbage on x
I'd like to pay my bill. Certainly sir, can we see ID to see that it is YOU paying the bill, and not some generous total stranger? (This actually does happen to me every month for a particular bill) https://twitter.com/...
@trexpushups
@trexpushups on x
Wow does this hurt trans people who haven't updated their ID... https://twitter.com/...
@adamrg
Adam Gessaman on x
So, I'd like to propose that we all file our taxes (handwritten) on paper and absolutely swamp the IRS' systems. Fuck this dystopia. https://gizmodo.com/...