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The next time you want to tweet something about how much you hate paying taxes, or what you did with your huge tax refund, you might want to rethink it. An article from Washington State University professors took a look at the IRS’ data mining and analytics programs, and suggested the government agency is participating in illegal collection of citizens’ social media profiles without their knowledge, and using it to audit taxpayers with suspicious activity.


The IRS traditionally audited individuals based on mathematical errors or mistakes in their tax filing, along with information obtained from employer records, like W-2 forms. The article’s co-authors, Kimberly A. Houser and Debra Sanders, sought to bring attention to the misuse of personal information by the agency, and reference previous data collection activities in which the IRS participated, including purchasing phone surveillance technology and reading private emails without a warrant. And these activities were only discovered after the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act request in 2013. Evidence of the IRS using social media to identify citizens reaches as far back as 2009, when the Electronic Frontier Foundation obtained an IRS training course about searching social media profiles.


Furthermore, the IRS is using social media data, like posts, as early as 2010 to determine who to audit. The authors argue that the IRS is also “creating highly detailed profiles of taxpayers upon which to run data analytics,” which violates federal law concerning government organizations gathering data.

That means your pictures of your new sports car could put you in the spotlight, especially if it coincides with a mistake or two made when you filed your taxes. In addition, the data collected by the IRS is susceptible to malicious activity from hackers or other third parties.

The report includes examples where social media was used to determine who to audit, and even a case where photos of a homeowner’s association on Google Maps were employed to revoke a tax exemption. The IRS gathers the data and uses machine learning in concert with as many as “32,000 categories of metadata and 1 million unique ‘attributes’” to determine who to investigate. Data on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are added to the agency’s own database, and searched with an algorithm to identify noncompliant taxpayers, potentially allowing for audit discrimination.


The process is seemingly ongoing according to Houser and Sanders, in spite of its standing in violation of the Fair Information Practices standard, which puts protections in place when it comes to the personal data of individuals collected by the government.

Organizations like the ACLU have filed lawsuits against the IRS ending with rulings stating the agency can no longer collect personal emails without a warrant, and government officials have criticized the agency—in 2015 South Dakota Senator John Thune slammed the IRS for “misguided decisions” and participating in this illegal practice at the detriment of consumer privacy. It’s possible watchdog organizations will succeed in putting a stop to IRS’ social media stalking, but for now, it’s another example of seemingly innocuous information posted online being used to target individuals, whether it’s to advertise to them or to audit them.


The IRS Is Mining Taxpayer Data On Social Media In Violation Of Federal Privacy Law | Tax Prof