Privacy Advocates Push For Government-Wide Facial Recognition Restrictions

After a recent successful campaign for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to dump its facial recognition program, privacy activists are now turning their attention to other agencies that use the technology. Reports last month of IRS requirements for taxpayers to upload selfies for an identity verification program run through ID.me prompted immediate backlash from public interest groups and lawmakers from both parties. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) urged the IRS to discontinue the service, while Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) demanded a comprehensive ban on the IRS’s use of such biometric data collection. A number of public interest groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Media Alliance, joined the calls for the IRS to abandon its plan. Their campaign was successful. The IRS said Feb. 7 that it will not use a third-party company to verify new accounts with facial recognition. The privacy activists aren’t stopping with the IRS. EPIC …  » Read full article