congress: tax prep companies shared private data with google, meta for years

former ftc chief says this data breach is a “five-alarm fire.”

by rick richardson
technology this week

a seven-month congressional investigation found that three of the biggest tax preparation firms in the country may have shared americans’ private financial information with google and meta for years in a possible violation of federal law. the information, in some cases, was used for targeted advertising.

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the investigation’s findings reveal a “five-alarm fire” for taxpayer privacy that, according to legal experts, could result in public and private lawsuits, criminal penalties or even a “mortal blow” for some major industry players like taxslayer, h&r block and taxact.

“on a scale from one to 10, this is a 15 … this is as great as any privacy breach that i’ve seen other than exploiting kids. this is a five-alarm fire if what we know about this so far is true.”