Cause for concern

 

January 29, 2022

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced plans to start requiring use of face recognition software for Americans looking to access their tax records online, and we’re incredibly concerned about it. Individuals will still be able to file their taxes without having to use the software for now, but to access their tax records, including tax credits and payment plans starting this summer, Americans will need to submit a biometric profile. As POGO has written previously, face recognition software is prone to error. It’s more likely to misidentify women and people of color, potentially creating obstacles more frequently for certain members of the population. Plus, the vendor the IRS plans to use for this, ID.me, has not been forthcoming about the way its software works. We sent a letter to the IRS on Friday urging the agency to cease deployment of face recognition technology until it can solicit input from civil liberties and technology experts. We’ll have more to come on this in the coming weeks. LETTER POGO Calls on IRS to Halt Planned Face Recognition Requirements The IRS is planning to build in a face recognition system that all taxpayers will be required to use to access basic web services this summer. We explain the dangers this will cause, and call on IRS to halt its program. Read More ANALYSIS Legal Battles Over Congressional Oversight: The Busy Year Ahead Buckle up: Events in the courts and Congress during 2022 are sure to shape the contours of congressional oversight for years to come. Here’s our rundown. Read More LETTER POGO Calls for the Immediate Removal of SEC Inspector General Carl Hoecker According to a government investigation, the SEC IG “abused his authority in the exercise of his official duties and engaged in conduct that undermines the independence and integrity reasonably expected of an IG”. Read More OP-ED The dizzying scope of abandoned mine hazards on public lands As many as 500,000 abandoned mine features litter federal land, many posing environmental or physical safety hazards that especially threaten Native communities. Read More on High Country News QUOTE OF THE WEEK “The optics are not good. ... [White House adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall] chose to wait 85 days to exercise the stock options. They were vested. She could have sold them on January 20, the day she started her new job.” Walt Shaub, Senior Ethics Fellow, in the Intercept OVERHEARD WATCHLIST ICYMI: Watch The Ridenhour Prizes first-ever Fireside Chat. ONE LINERS “[This touting of military hardware] sounds like this is just a preview of more to come.” Mandy Smithberger, Director of the Center for Defense Information, in Politico   “By caving to pressure inside the Pentagon and hiding unclassified information behind a pseudo classification, the current leaders of DOT&E are undermining the effectiveness of their own agency.” Dan Grazier, Jack Shanahan Military Fellow, in Breaking Defense