Id.me coming to WA after dropped by IRS

IRS has dropped ID.me's facial recognition tech after backlash, but Washington state will roll it out in June

by Lauren Rosenblatt, The Seattle Times
facial recognition

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Washington state is getting ready to roll out the ID.me facial recognition system dropped by the IRS last month over privacy and equity concerns.

Human rights activists and some federal lawmakers are asking state government officials, including in Washington, to ban the system. Amid the outcry, Washington's Employment Security Department says it doesn't use ID.me to verify the identities of people claiming jobless benefits—but plans to start doing so in June.

"Recently, we launched a competitive procurement process to secure a tool claimants would use to verify their identity before applying for benefits," said Nick Demerice, director of public affairs. ID.me, Demerice said, was the winning vendor.

Sold as a way to help stop scammers from accessing unemployment aid by adding an extra layer of security, ID.me offers government agencies and other customers a way to verify an individual's identity using information like a driver's license, Social Security number and a facial scan. The system prompts each user to take a "video selfie," holding the camera in front of their face to scan until they see a green check mark.

ID.me's technology is already used in 27 states' unemployment systems, as well as several federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Four states credited the system with preventing $210 billion in fraud, ID.me says.

Washington launched a pilot project with ID.me in 2021, part of its efforts to combat a spike in fraud in spring 2020, Demerice said. Washington state officials found $1.6 million in fraudulent claims in March and April of that year, leading them to temporarily halt unemployment benefits.

The state did not implement the ID.me system following the pilot.

Recently, ID.me's facial recognition technology has come under fire for the amount of information it collects from applicants, which opponents of the system worry could be misused, resold or stolen.

Critics also say the system creates barriers that prevent people from accessing unemployment aid. The tech is not accessible to people who don't have smartphones, computers or internet access. Facial recognition technology, they contend, also perpetuates racial biases.

Techxplore.com
Original article seattletimes.com March 2

Jack Sweeney tracking oligarch jets.

Teen who tracked Elon Musk’s jet turns his attention to Russian oligarchs

Jack Sweeney has amassed 162,000 Twitter followers on a new account monitoring the private jets of billionaires and tycoons

Theguardian.com
March 1

Hope he also posts addresses of oligarch palaces. We could chalk their sidewalks.🌻

The Heat Is On: intergovernmental panel on climate change.

IPCC | Climate Change 2022

The report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability warns that climate change is causing dangerous disruption in nature and is affecting billions of people, stressing the urgency to act.

UN.org
2022
Just released

Switzerland, global capital of dirty money? Which side are you on boys?

Federal monitor claims FBI aware of alleged SPD sexual violence

(Snip) “The Consent Decree Monitor saying he gave my information to the FBI months ago is akin to him telling me that nothing is going to happen, or the issue of police sexual misconduct is not going to be addressed,” Lippek said. “If the monitoring team was looking to work collaboratively with the community on the issue of police sexual violence, then the community should have been consulted regarding the FBI’s involvement. He could have sent me an email months ago. … Telling me months later is not collaboration. It is vaguely threatening.” (More)

SouthSeattleEmerald.com
February 17

WA legislative staff stage sick-out over labor organizing bill

Thehill.com February 16

WA legislature missed deadline to keep staff unionizing bill alive, effectively killing bill for this year.

‘I have never seen a workplace with so much turnover.’

‘I never want to hear dems wax poetic about labor again.’

Thank you for the heart! Yep, teary eyed. Take your bow.

Tweet of the day

Www.fleischerallstars.com/letsallsinglikethebirdiessing

Favs: Mitch Miller and Niki

Edit: link not working. Perhaps someone can help? Thanks.

Global craziness (ie truckers in Canada) due to

Covid mental illness. Not physical virus but a mental breakdown similar to the dancing plague of the 1500s.

Whole populations danced to death while suffering hallucinations and religious mania.

Thought to be psychological, emotional breakdown in response to Black Plague death toll.

Parallels are obvious to me.

What do you think?

Anonymous heart giver/You made my day.