Does Facial Recognition Have a Place in Society?

Facial recognition technology is increasingly common throughout society. We can unlock our phones with our faces, smart doorbells let us know who’s outside our home, and services like Clear let us attend events or fly on airplanes using our face as an ID.

But everyone isn’t on board with this new trend – just ask the IRS, which came to that conclusion this week after announcing a program that would’ve required taxpayers to verify their identity using facial recognition software from ID.me.

• The agency reversed course in the face of backlash from lawmakers and privacy groups, some of whom cited research showing the technology is less accurate when identifying people of color.

🤿 A deeper dive… Proponents of facial recognition argue it would significantly increase cybersecurity, keeping out fraudsters who’ve become adept at stealing other information like common passwords.

• The technology has been shown to work with a 99.8% accuracy rate under good conditions – and even that requirement is slipping away. Apple’s next iOS update will allow you to unlock your iPhone even while wearing a mask.

✋ Yes, but: Many critics warn that there’s no guarantee hackers won’t become just as proficient at stealing facial images. And faces can’t be changed like passwords once they’ve been compromised.

• What’s more, the federal government has yet to impose any regulations governing how facial recognition companies should store and use their data.

🇺🇸 Zoom out: Nine other federal agencies besides the IRS are already using ID.me services, along with 30 states’ unemployment offices.

For its part, ID.me this week announced it would no longer require facial recognition, instead offering the option for users to verify their identity in a video call with a human agent.