Larson, Davis Urge Social Security to Reconsider Use of Facial Recognition Technology

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT) and Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) wrote to Acting Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi urging SSA to seek more equitable approaches for online identity verification and to reconsider its Trump-era use of facial recognition technology via ID.me and other platforms.

The Members wrote that Acting Commissioner Kijakazi has "demonstrated an enduring commitment to ensuring equity in SSA's programs and services – a commitment that we strongly share. However, it has become increasingly apparent that use of facial recognition technologies is likely to result in disparate access to online services for people of color, and poses serious privacy and civil liberty risks. SSA's current use of facial recognition via ID.me is a legacy left from the prior administration that we hope you will reconsider – as the Internal Revenue Service recently did – and replace with more equitable and appropriate approaches to identity verification," they wrote.

Click here to see the full letter.

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