Press releases

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in introducing the Ban IRS Biometrics Act to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from forcing taxpayers to submit biometric data such as facial scans to log in to accounts, access refunds or file taxes. The IRS previously attempted to implement this idea.

“Washington has no right to require Americans to upload facial or other biometric scans to the government. The IRS has a track record of targeting law-abiding citizens, and Americans have little confidence that the IRS will protect their information. I’m thankful to partner with Sen. Scott to safeguard the privacy of U.S. citizens against Big Brother’s intrusion,” said Kennedy. 

“The fact that the Biden administration would even consider requiring Americans to use facial recognition system just to file their taxes is both unsurprising and deeply concerning. I’m glad that Biden’s IRS finally listened to my warnings and reversed its horrible proposal—but we must ensure this disastrous idea is never entertained again. The safety of Americans’ personal information must ALWAYS be a priority, which is why I am introducing my Ban IRS Biometrics Act. I thank the cosponsors for joining me in this fight and I urge my colleagues to support this important bill,” said Scott.

Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) also cosponsored the bill.

Text of the Ban IRS Biometrics Act is available here.