Blunt, Merkley Introduce Legislation Banning the Use of Facial Recognition Technology at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) | US Senator Roy Blunt of…

WASHINGTON -U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) today announcedthe introduction of their No Facial Recognition at the IRS Act,a bipartisan bill to ban the use of biometric recognition technologyby the IRS. The introduction of Blunt and Merkley's bill comes less than amonth after the senators sent a letter to the agency demanding it immediatelystop the use of biometric recognition and data collection on Americantaxpayers.

"It is completely unacceptable for the IRS to demandAmericans submit sensitive biometric data to access basic government servicesand tax information," said Blunt. "Given the IRS's past failures toprotect taxpayer data, Americans should be rightly concerned about trusting theagency with their facial recognition data. I appreciate Senator Merkley'spartnership and encourage all of our colleagues to join us in our effort topermanently protect taxpayers' privacy and security."

"The IRS's decision to walk back its use of facialrecognition technology was the right decision to make, but a decision thatshouldn't have to be made," said Merkley. "Facial recognitiontechnology is not perfect. There are reports that this technology oftenmisidentifies women and people of color. This process is burdensome, invasive,inconsistent, and unnecessary--taxpayers deserve to have their privacyprotected. I look forward to continuing my work with Senator Blunt to ensurethe IRS will be permanently banned from using this intrusive technology."

The No Facial Recognition at the IRS Act will:

Blunt and Merkley have also led bipartisan efforts to ensureAmerican citizens know their right to opt out of federal programs that usesensitive biometric data. Last month, the two senators led a letter addressingthe right for Americans to opt out of the use of facial recognition technologyduring the U.S. Customs and Border Protection entry/exit process.

The full text of the bill can be found here.

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Blunt, Merkley Introduce Legislation Banning the Use of Facial Recognition Technology at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) | US Senator Roy Blunt of...