{"id":6425,"date":"2023-10-28T15:36:32","date_gmt":"2023-10-28T15:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/business\/us-lawmakers-question-tax-prep-companies-on-sharing-of-taxpayer-data-with-big-tech-platforms\/"},"modified":"2023-10-28T15:36:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T15:36:32","slug":"us-lawmakers-question-tax-prep-companies-on-sharing-of-taxpayer-data-with-big-tech-platforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=6425","title":{"rendered":"US lawmakers question tax prep companies on sharing of taxpayer data with Big Tech platforms"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n A group of US lawmakers wants answers from tax preparation companies, including TaxAct and H&R Block, about whether they may be continuing to transfer sensitive taxpayer data to tech platforms like Meta for advertising purposes, following a warning of possible penalties over the practice by federal regulators.\n <\/p>\n

\n In letters to five tax prep giants\u00a0dated Wednesday, the lawmakers demanded to know if the companies have heeded the warning by the Federal Trade Commission, which told the companies in September they could face billions of dollars in fines if it turns out they violated their customers\u2019 privacy.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAmericans should be able to file their taxes without fear that their sensitive data will be shared with Big Tech companies,\u201d said the letters, copies of which were obtained by CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN has contacted the tax preparation firms for comment.\n <\/p>\n

\n A spokesperson for H&R Block said the company \u201ctakes protecting our clients\u2019 privacy very seriously, and we have taken steps to prevent the sharing of information via pixels.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The letters \u2014 led by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren \u2014 focus on the use of tracking technology developed by tech platforms and embedded within the tax prep companies\u2019 websites that quietly transferred users\u2019 personal information to Meta and Google, allegedly without their consent.\n <\/p>\n

\n The information collected included basic personal data, such as names and email addresses, but also highly specific data about users\u2019 incomes, filing statuses and refund amounts, according to the results of\u00a0a months-long congressional investigation\u00a0Warren announced in July.\n <\/p>\n

\n In some cases, the investigation found, the tracking technology also monitored which buttons and text fields users may have clicked on while filling out their taxes, which could reveal what tax breaks they may have claimed or which government programs they use. The probe began in late 2022 after an initial report by the investigative journalism website The Markup\u00a0uncovered the practice.\n <\/p>\n

\n During the probe, Meta told investigators it used the taxpayer data it received to target third-party ads to users of its platform and to train its artificial intelligence algorithms, the investigation\u2019s\u00a0final report\u00a0said. A Meta spokesperson said in July that the company instructs its partners not to use its tools to share sensitive information and that Meta\u2019s systems are \u201cdesigned to filter out potentially sensitive data it is able to detect.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Google told CNN in July it prohibits business customers from uploading sensitive data to its platform that could be traced back to a person, and has policies against advertising to people based on sensitive information.\n <\/p>\n

\n While trackers like Meta\u2019s and Google\u2019s are commonly used across the internet, in this context their use allegedly led to sensitive financial information being used for non-financial purposes without consent, a potential violation of US consumer protection law.\n <\/p>\n

\n The FTC\u00a0warned five companies in September\u00a0about the legal risks they could face for potentially misusing so-called \u201ctracking pixels\u201d from companies such as Meta: H&R Block; Intuit, the maker of TurboTax;\u00a0TaxAct;\u00a0TaxSlayer; and\u00a0Ramsey Solutions. Wednesday\u2019s congressional letters were sent to those same companies.\n <\/p>\n

\n The FTC \u201cis warning recipients they could incur civil penalties of up to $50,120 per violation if they misuse personal data in ways that run counter to the original purpose for which this information was collected,\u201d the agency said at the time.\n <\/p>\n

\n Of the five tax prep companies, Intuit was not a major focus of the initial congressional probe because it did not use tracking pixels to the same extent as the others, the investigation found.\n <\/p>\n

\n But on Wednesday, Warren and her colleagues \u2014 Sens. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat; Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat; Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth; Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders; Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat; and House Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California \u2014 included Intuit among the recipients of their letters, saying they wanted to make sure that the company has not begun misusing tracking pixels since the congressional investigation.\n <\/p>\n

\n They also asked the same question of each of the four other tax prep companies, as well as requesting a commitment to abide by the FTC\u2019s warning not to use customer data in ways consumers did not expressly approve.\n <\/p>\n

\n The lawmakers requested that the tax prep firms respond by Nov. 8.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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