![]() ![]() Over 90% of the states using facial recognition told the inspector general that contractors have helped reduce fraud, but the alert memo draws out concerns about access across demographics like race and gender as well as privacy. ![]() The agencies used 10 different private companies total for facial recognition technology. Out of 53 state workforce agencies, 24 told the inspector general that they use an identity verification contractor that uses facial recognition technology, with two agencies not responding to a survey from the watchdog. When Congress provided expanded relief funding at the start of the pandemic to address lockdowns and associated economic disruptions, state unemployment systems became a target for fraudsters using stolen and synthetic identities to try to get benefits.Īs states scrambled to respond, many proliferated the use of private companies to perform identity checks. Remote identity verification achieved digitally through data checks or facial recognition is a relatively new process in the unemployment system. The DOL Office of the Inspector General is “concerned that the use of identity verification service contractors may not result in equitable and secure access to benefits,” the memo said, calling for “extreme caution to ensure claimants are not subjected to discrimination by the use of facial recognition technology.” The Labor Department’s watchdog said there are “urgent equity and security concerns” around the use of facial recognition in unemployment insurance programs that “need immediate attention,” in an alert memo released Tuesday and called for more guidance.
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