US taxpayers allowed to forego facial recognition for online authentication

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has provided an alternative to facial-recognition technology for verifying a taxpayer’s identity when accessing online services. The agency has also established rules for the deletion of biometric data.

Users creating an IRS online account will be offered a choice: submit biometric data to an automated system or undergo authentication via a live video call with a human agent.

Taxpayers will be able to verify their identity during a live virtual interview with agents. No biometric data, including facial recognition, will be required if taxpayers choose to verify their identity via a virtual interview, the IRS said.

For users who select the first option, new safeguards will ensure the removal of the images provided by taxpayers for the account being created.

The agency said that existing biometric data of users who had previously created an account will also be permanently deleted over the coming weeks.

In the longer term, the IRS plans to switch to the federal authentication service Login.gov—a secure login for accessing government services that does not rely on identity-verification methods like ID.me.

Following criticism from several policymakers and civil rights advocates, the agency offered a path to avoid providing biometric data for authentication after criticism from a number of lawmakers and civil rights advocates. Earlier, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recommended that the IRS refrain from using facial recognition in delivering online services.

In January, ID.me confirmed the use of a vast biometric database for biometric identification.

In February, American lawmakers urged the IRS to abandon plans to deploy a facial-recognition service on the agency’s website.

In the same month, senators urged to find an alternative to ID.me.

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