ID.me Facial Recognition System Blocks Thousands From Accessing Unemployment Benefits

Summary

By mid-2021, at least 30 US states and the IRS had contracted ID.me to verify identity for accessing unemployment benefits and tax accounts using facial recognition. The system required applicants to upload a selfie and government ID; when the algorithm couldn't match, applicants were placed in queue for a live video interview — often waiting weeks or being rejected outright. Thousands of claimants — disproportionately Black and brown workers, elderly individuals, and those without smartphones — were locked out of benefits they were legally entitled to. Facial recognition researchers documented higher error rates for darker skin tones (up to 34% higher failure rates for dark-skinned women vs. light-skinned men per MIT Media Lab research). Critics including Sen. Ron Wyden called for the IRS to abandon the system; the IRS announced it would phase out ID.me facial recognition in February 2022 following public outcry.