IRS Will Use Facial Recognition To Verify Users Before They Log In

For those who access the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) online, the next time you log into your account, you could be asked to use facial recognition software to verify your identity. 

According to CNN, this process will include taking a picture of an identification card, such as a driver’s license or passport photo, before recording a video of yourself with a smartphone or computer camera so the two images can be matched. This new feature comes as the IRS has teamed up with ID.me, a company that supplies companies with facial recognition software for identity-verification measures. 

At the moment, the recognition feature is optional for those who already have a username and password for the IRS website, though those will be obsolete in the summer. Non-existing users looking to use the online tools will need to sign up using the facial verification process starting now.

However, not everyone’s too pleased about the new verification process, and some have expressed discomfort with the use of a third-party system. 

“I think any plan that inserts a private intermediary into the system for accessing critical information or obtaining benefits from a government agency warrants a lot of scrutiny,” describes John Davisson, Director of Litigation and Senior Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).

There have been users who have experienced lengthy delays due to the addition of the feature, such as English teacher Ari Herzog, who had endured a nine-day wait before he was verified. This was due in part to failed attempts at uploading the necessary documents, as well as the long wait for the video call to confirm his identity. 

In response, an IRS spokesperson clarified that the facial recognition software will not be used to file tax returns, and citizens will still be able to make payments via credit cards or bank accounts without having to log in to the portal, notes CNBC. 

“The IRS emphasizes taxpayers can pay or file their taxes without submitting a selfie or other information to a third-party identity verification company,” said the agency. 

[via CNN and CNBC, cover image via Shutterstock]