ID.me says users can delete selfies following IRS backlash

The verification company ID.me said it would allow anyone who created an account through the company to delete their selfies from March 1 and that it would allow government agencies using the service to skip the selfie step altogether.

The move comes two days after the Internal Revenue Service said it would stop using face recognition technology to identify taxpayers when setting up online accounts. The decision of the IRS to conclude a contract with ID.me caused a reactions from privacy advocates, taxpayers and lawmakers versus the image-based verification system.

Previously, ID.me recognized users by asking them to take a selfie and matching it to a photo document, such as a driver’s license. If this step fails, some users may be able to verify their identity via video chat.

Video chat option will now be widely available. However, it will be up to government agencies using ID.me to decide whether to continue to require selfies, a company spokesman said.

“In recent weeks, we’ve modified our process so that government agencies can enable people to choose to verify their identity with a qualified human agent without having to go through a selfie check. Companies can now choose this configuration “, the CEO and founder of ID.me, Blake Hall, said in a statement.

It is not clear how common the video chat option will be, as some ID.me users have complained about long waiting times or not being able to talk to a video agent. The company last month increased recruitment to try to meet the highest demand.

“There is always a concern that … people will decide to use face recognition because the other options are very rigid and time consuming,” Jeramie Scott, senior consultant at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told CBS MoneyWatch last week.

Anyone who has uploaded a selfie with ID.me in the past will be able to delete it on account.ID.me from March 1, the company said.

The IRS retires from Face ID

The IRS announced Monday that it will move away from using face recognition technology “in the coming weeks” to avoid downtime during the tax filing period it is already facing. accumulated returns and documents. The plan had been criticized by civil liberties advocates and ordinary taxpayers over concerns that the system – which requires users to upload their IDs and submit a selfie or video chat with an agent – could provide a host of personal information to hackers.

• Lawmakers pressure IRS to reject controversial self.ID.me software
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On Monday, four Democrats in Congress urged the IRS to stop use of face recognition technology, citing concerns about privacy, data security and Internet access for those without access to the Internet, echoing concerns raised by Sen. Ron Wyden and 15 Republican senators last week.

In a statement saying it would move away from using third-party face recognition technology, the IRS added that it would develop “an additional authentication process that does not include face recognition”. He did not specify what that process would involve.

“The IRS takes the privacy and security of taxpayers very seriously and we understand the concerns that have been expressed,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Retting. “Everyone should feel comfortable with the way their personal information is protected and we quickly seek short-term options that do not involve face recognition.”

Privacy groups praised the IRS’s move and pushed for other government agencies to use ID.me.

An IRS spokesman told CBS MoneyWatch earlier that the agency had sought to strengthen its security systems but had been hampered by a lack of funding from Congress for technology upgrades.

The agency announced its partnership with ID.me in November. However, the deal took some control until January, when security investigator Brian Krebs documented the process of verifying his identity by uploading documents, trying to take a selfie and connecting with an agent via video chat.

As lawmakers and privacy experts opposed the plan, a US Treasury official told CBS MoneyWatch that the agency was considering alternatives.

Proponents of civil rights have long argued that face recognition is less accurate for people with darker skin tones. Critics have also said that requiring taxpayers to use ID.me to access their IRS accounts could also put people at a disadvantage who do not have high-speed Internet access and do not have access to a agent via video.

In a recent interview with CBS MoneyWatch, ID.me CEO Blake Hall said the company’s technology is more comprehensive than other identification options – many of which do not verify anyone who does not have a credit report, for example – and safer. The company has prevented fraud in “tens of thousands” of cases, he said.

“What we are doing is simply the digital equivalent of what every American does to open a bank account,” Hall said.

In:
• Internal Revenue Service