Users Tax Info Sent To Facebook

[Lee B]

"Major tax filing services such as H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer have been quietly transmitting sensitive financial information to Facebook when Americans file their taxes online, The Markup has learned. 

The data, sent through widely used code called the Meta Pixel, includes not only information like names and email addresses but often even more detailed information, including data on users’ income, filing status, refund amounts, and dependents’ college scholarship amounts. 

The information sent to Facebook can be used by the company to power its advertising algorithms and is gathered regardless of whether the person using the tax filing service has an account on Facebook or other platforms operated by its owner, Meta. "

Surprise, Surprise!  Another reason to never use Facebook!

[BulldogTom]

Wow.   I went out and read the whole article.   Wow....just wow!   

Tom
Longview, TX

[Sara EA]

Has this report been verified or is it just a conspiracy theory?  If so, sharing tax info is a major violation of Circular 230 and these firms can lose their ability to prepare tax returns.  Back in the days when Block offered mortgages and financial services, there was a form clients could sign to allow sharing their tax info with these subsidiaries.  Is there a form they now sign allowing sharing with Facebook?

[jklcpa]

Here's a link to the article:

https://themarkup.org/pixel-hunt/2022/11/22/tax-filing-websites-have-been-sending-users-financial-information-to-facebook

[Slippery Pencil]

9 hours ago, cbslee said:

Surprise, Surprise!  Another reason to never use Facebook!

Seems more a reason to never use Intuit, TaxAct, TaxSlayer, & Block since they're the ones illegally selling client data.

[Lee B]

Think of Meta Pixels as next generation programmable cookies, which Meta provides to business users to "enhance the users online experience" with the information

then being shared with Meta, which includes Facebook, Instagram and to a lesser extent Whatsapp.  Meta Pixels are apparently very hard to avoid and very

difficult to get rid of.  Supposedly Google some similar tracking but not at this depth.

"The Markup found sensitive data sent to Facebook on the Education Department’s federal student aid application website, crisis pregnancy websites, and the websites of prominent hospitals. "

"The Markup tested the websites of Newsweek’s top 100 hospitals in America. On 33 of them we found the tracker, called the Meta Pixel, sending Facebook a packet of data whenever a person clicked a button to schedule a doctor’s appointment. The data is connected to an IP address—an identifier that’s like a computer’s mailing address and can generally be linked to a specific individual or household—creating an intimate receipt of the appointment request for Facebook."

Unless we go completely off grid or avoid other parties websites like the plague we are all being tracked.

[BTS]

I wonder how much revenue selling this info generates ?

[ILLMAS]

If you want to see something scary try this, with your smartphone being closed, the say any of the following words:

Thinning hair

cellulitis 

receding hairline

Then open Facebook and you’ll  start seeing ads for hair transplant, cosmetic surgery etc..

[Lee B]

1 hour ago, BTS said:

I wonder how much revenue selling this info generates ?

Meta's website doesn't explicitly say, but how it appears to work is that Meta will let businesses use the programmable Pixels for free

in return for receiving the information, which Meta then uses for marketing and advertising which is how they generate revenue.

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

2 hours ago, BTS said:

I wonder how much revenue selling this info generates ?

Nothing is provided free. Free email? No, the provider is somehow making money from you and trying to limit their expenses such as over aggressive filtering to reduce bandwidth. (One example, and why free email is not wise for business use, or really not even for personal use, the lack of control over what you actually see and when.)

“Gmail is a part of (but does not make up entirely) Google’s “Google Search & other” ad revenue segment on their annual report. Which, in 2021, generated $148.95 billion of Google’s total $257.63 billion in revenue.”

It is safe to believe getting non generic info, such as via the tracker; is more valuable than just serving ads.

On the other hand, many don’t bother with over worry about privacy, accepting the risks and enjoying the “free” services.

 

[mcbreck]

18 hours ago, Slippery Pencil said:

Seems more a reason to never use Intuit, TaxAct, TaxSlayer, & Block since they're the ones illegally selling client data.

Google is also involved. Sounds like the methods used would mean the professional software versions weren't using this but it seems there should be some clarification on that fact. I'm sure nothing will come of this but the IRS needs to take some serious action very soon. Again, doubt they will.

[Lee B]

Well, in 2019 the FTC fined Facebook $ 5 Billion for egregious violations of privacy.

Unfortunately, for Facebook that is just pocket change.

[Max W]

Hopefully, the anti-virus software programs will provide a means of detecting these pixels and what information they are sending.

[Lee B]

Pixels as well as cookies are not considered malware. 

[jklcpa]

If I, as a tax preparer, shared any of this personal data with anyone it would be considered an ethical violation under circ 230 and my professional standards. Why is the IRS not cracking down and fining these software companies when the agency has other ridiculous standards for us such as the size of micro-shredded chips and all the various other rules for safeguarding taxpayers' data and privacy?  This is infuriating! 

[BulldogTom]

14 hours ago, jklcpa said:

This is infuriating! 

Exactly.   What Judy says.   

There is a confirmation hearing coming up for a new IRS Commissioner.   Perhaps we should send an email to our Senators and ask them to ask the new commissioner designate about this situation and his plans about it moving forward.

If IRS lets them get away with this, we will have no good reason to try to persuade our clients that their personal data included in their tax return is safe with the IRS. 

Tom
Longview, TX

[Lee B]

5 hours ago, BulldogTom said:

 

If IRS lets them get away with this, we will have no good reason to try to persuade our clients that their personal data included in their tax return is safe with the IRS. 

Tom
Longview, TX

So far, the sharing of personal tax information with Meta appears to have been mostly limited to the taxpayers that used the online versions of Taxact, Tax Slayer and H & R Block to prepare their own returns. In addition:   "The Markup also found the pixel code on a tax preparation site operated by a financial advice and software company called Ramsey Solutions, which uses a version of TaxSlayer’s service.That pixel gathered even more personal data from a tax return summary page, including information on income and refund amounts." (Ramsay Solutions is a spinoff of the The Dave Ramsay Show)

As a practical matter, I don't think that I have a single client or any family member that will read or hear about this.

Issues and problems like this are only noticed by accountants, financial advisors, and other computer/technically literate people.

 

 

 

[Catherine]

On 11/23/2022 at 1:08 PM, ILLMAS said:

If you want to see something scary try this, with your smartphone being closed, the say any of the following words:

Thinning hair

cellulitis 

receding hairline

Then open Facebook and you’ll  start seeing ads for hair transplant, cosmetic surgery etc..

Even better/worse: leave your phone behind, and say those words yourself near someone else's phone - you'll get the same ads. Voice recognition.

[Catherine]

From what I read, at least one company claims it was "not aware" this was being sent and shut down the entire info feed immediately. For whatever that's worth. But yes, total violation of Circ 230 if they had any knowledge. If truly without knowledge & consent, then felony thefts of sensitive information. Public hangings to commence after speedy public trial and conviction?

[Sara EA]

I had an email from a client who had read the article and demanded to know what software we use to file returns.  The article didn't make clear that it seemed to be DIY software that was passing along info.  The IRS does take violations of taxpayer privacy seriously.  It may take time to investigate and it will be difficult to impossible to identify the responsible parties, but I fully expect IRS to shut down these services and fine them more money than they have. 

[BulldogTom]

12 hours ago, Sara EA said:

The IRS does take violations of taxpayer privacy seriously.  It may take time to investigate and it will be difficult to impossible to identify the responsible parties, but I fully expect IRS to shut down these services and fine them more money than they have. 

I wish I had the same faith in our government institutions that you do, but I just don't see the IRS taking on HRB and Meta.  I guess I am just jaded at this point.

However, I did contact both my Senators via their website and let them know about this.   

Tom
Longview, TX

[Lee B]

It turns out that Taxslayer provides the software used by all of the VITA clinics. The IRS without any indications of investigating these issues

has announced that the VITA software did not include any pixels.

 

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

These things are a reason why I have pondered (here I believe too) why more do not ask things such as what OS is being used, what security measures are in place, etc., of those I need to trust my data to.

I absolutely have customers, who prepare payroll for others, who are most definitely not keeping their OS/system up to date.  Sometimes, those customers even complain that I warn about using an outdated OS.  Or, like one a few minutes ago, they had a computer issue, no backups, payroll due out today, and no options other than to rebuild all data from scratch.

[BulldogTom]

Has anyone heard any more about this?   Just swept under the rug?   

Tom
Longview, TX

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

Not a lawyer so just conjecture. Unless there are statutory damages, it would take some proof of damages to get a contingent lawyer to file.