U.S. senators urge ditching ID.me, face recognition for jobless benefits

FILE PHOTO: The United States Department of Labor is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) -Three U.S. senators on Tuesday called on the Department of Labor to help states find alternatives to identity verification provider ID.me for screening people seeking unemployment aid because they said its technology raises serious privacy and civil liberties concerns.

The Internal Revenue Service last week dropped mandatory verification through ID.me for people filing their taxes online this year. But about half of U.S. states still use ID.me, which employs a mix of facial recognition technology and video-chat interviews, to confirm the identity of unemployment applicants. Other states have used rival tools.