ID.me Lied About Its Facial Recognition Tech, Congress Says (vice.com) 18
The controversial facial recognition firm hired by the US government during the height of the pandemic is being slammed by members of Congress, who say the company misrepresented how its technology works and downplayed excessive wait times which stopped Americans from collecting unemployment benefits. From a report: New evidence shows that ID.me "inaccurately overstated its capacity to conduct identity verification services to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and made baseless claims about the amount of federal funds lost to pandemic fraud in an apparent attempt to increase demand for its identity verification services," according to a new report from the two U.S. House of Representatives committees overseeing the government's COVID-19 response.
The report also said that ID.me -- which received $45 million in COVID relief funds from at least 25 state agencies -- misrepresented the excessively long wait times it forced on people trying to claim emergency benefits like unemployment insurance and Child Tax Credit payments. Wait times for video chats were as long as 4 to 9 hours in some states. Members of Congress also wrote that ID.me provided no evidence to support a claim that unemployment fraud had cost US taxpayers $400 billion.
The report also said that ID.me -- which received $45 million in COVID relief funds from at least 25 state agencies -- misrepresented the excessively long wait times it forced on people trying to claim emergency benefits like unemployment insurance and Child Tax Credit payments. Wait times for video chats were as long as 4 to 9 hours in some states. Members of Congress also wrote that ID.me provided no evidence to support a claim that unemployment fraud had cost US taxpayers $400 billion.
Can we stop using them then? (Score:2)
I always knew they were scummy. You can tell from the public/private partnership.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
...public/private partnership.
That term does a really wonderful job of alerting readers to the probability of sleaze. It almost always means either a private entity using government as a bludgeon to extract money, or government using a private entity to do things that would be illegal if government did them. Bonus points if it's both.
In this case, TFA seems to indicate they already did stop.
Government Only, no .COM contractors (Score:2, Insightful)
Why do we have to use a Private company for us to do Official business with the Government? .gov not .com or .org.
All Government interaction should be on
We should not be forced to give personal information or create an account with a private company for Official Government services.
Re: Government Only, no .COM contractors (Score:2)
And hosted in government datacenters.
Full of government made servers with government made processors, RAM and storage. Linked by government made routers.
Powered by government made power stations that contain government made generators. Made from government mined and refined metal.
Also, no this party payment payment systems. Cash or Post Office Money Orders only.
Re: Government Only, no .COM contractors (Score:2)
There is a significant difference between the government buying something to enable the services it provides, vs the government sending citizens to directly interact with a private company as a prerequisite to using government-provided services.
why do people in suits lie so? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I'm still waiting for my 2020 tax refund (Score:3)
After I e-filed in October 2021 I got a letter from the IRS that I had to confirm my identity via ID.me. I took care of it promptly.
Somehow my return is still "processing". I think some bit related to id verification just won't flip, and they've owed me over $14k since.
This is the perfect example (Score:2)
Congress (Score:1)
Congress: "Blatant hypocrisy is OK when we do it!!"
11 years in jail (Score:4, Interesting)
Does the CEO of ID.me also get charged and sentenced to 11 years in federal jail for wire fraud? Or is he more likeable and with better connections...so nothing happens?
Open standards (Score:2)
login.gov (Score:2)
ID.me (Score:2)
I used them getting a login on the IRS site, lengthy process to say the least. Lot of scans, copying .... finally worked after an online interview.
As for waiting for a refund, avoid them at all cost. They are much better at cashing your check than writing them.
Suggestion for refunds, apply them to a series I bond purchase. There are limits as to amount and when you can get your money, but 6.89% till Apr 30 is better than sitting with nothing. (and there is no state income tax)
Seeking fascism (Score:2)
Corporation seeking fascist monopoly misrepresents its effectiveness (at preventing crime) and its speed.
I'm shocked, shocked I say. Well, not that shocked. Internet providers have done something similar for years.
Suppressed Memory (Score:2)
I had successfully suppressed the memory of getting id.me working until this post came up. It was not a pleasant memory. I'm pretty sure that I was "lucky" in that my wait was probably closer to 4 hours than 9. If I recall, the website made you confirm that you were indeed present every 15 or 20 minutes or you'd lose your spot waiting for the video agent. The worst part is that after I finally got it working, I couldn't get the information I wanted from the IRS website.