IRS says it will scrap facial-recognition ID.me plan following backlash
CBSN
The IRS on Monday said it will stop using face-recognition technology to authenticate taxpayers when they create online accounts. The decision comes amid a backlash from privacy advocates, taxpayers and lawmakers to the system from verification company ID.me.
The IRS said the shift away from using the facial-recognition technology will "occur over the coming weeks" to avoid disruptions during tax filing season, which is already facing a backlog of returns and paperwork. The plan had drawn criticism among civil liberties advocates and ordinary taxpayers over concerns that the system — which requires users to upload their ID and submit a selfie or video chat with an agent — could provide troves of personal information to hackers.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.
The knock at the door came at nighttime on Mother's Day 2008 in Oregon, where Jessica Ellis' parents lived. It was around 9:20 p.m. and his wife, Linda, was already in bed; her father Steve Ellis told CBS News, that he thought someone let their animals out — but two soldiers in Class A uniforms were standing at the door.