U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced legislation that would ban Internal Revenue Service (IRS) use of biometric recognition technology.
The No Facial Recognition at the IRS Act was presented less than a month after the legislators forwarded correspondence to the IRS requesting the agency immediately stop utilizing biometric recognition and data collection on American taxpayers.
“It is completely unacceptable for the IRS to demand Americans submit sensitive biometric data to access basic government services and tax information,” Blunt said. “Given the IRS’s past failures to protect taxpayer data, Americans should be rightly concerned about trusting the agency with their facial recognition data. I appreciate Senator Merkley’s partnership and encourage all of our colleagues to join us in our effort to permanently protect taxpayers’ privacy and security.”
Bill provisions include providing the IRS a 60-day timeframe from when the bill is enacted to ensure biometric data collected by the IRS or any party contracting with the agency has been deleted.
“The IRS’s decision to walk back its use of facial recognition technology was the right decision to make, but a decision that shouldn’t have to be made,” Merkley said. “Facial recognition technology is not perfect. There are reports that this technology often misidentifies women and people of color. This process is burdensome, invasive, inconsistent, and unnecessary–taxpayers deserve to have their privacy protected. I look forward to continuing my work with Sen. Blunt to ensure the IRS will be permanently banned from using this intrusive technology.”