Sign stands outside the IRS headquarters building in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images) WASHINGTON - The IRS announced that they will end the use of facial recognition for identity verification.
The agency said Monday that the transition away from the facial recognition practice will happen over the coming weeks to avoid disruptions to people filing their taxes this year.
According to the IRS, the new plan is to develop and implement an extra authentication process that doesn’t use facial recognition.
In January, the IRS required users of its online tax payment system to provide a selfie to a third-party company called ID.me, to access their accounts.The agency said taxpayers would not be required to go through ID.me or use facial recognition software to submit their taxes.