{"id":44088,"date":"2026-02-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/insights\/irs-data-mistake-breaks-the-social-contract-with-americans-says-oti\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:00:00","slug":"irs-data-mistake-breaks-the-social-contract-with-americans-says-oti","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/insights\/irs-data-mistake-breaks-the-social-contract-with-americans-says-oti\/","title":{"rendered":"IRS Data Mistake Breaks the Social Contract with Americans, Says OTI"},"author":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","issue_tax":[78],"topic_tax":[116],"program_tax":[147],"project_tax":[],"person_tax":[658],"podcast_show_tax":[],"insight_type":[3807],"fellowship_tax":[],"award":[],"class_list":["post-44088","insight","type-insight","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","insight_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"hero_type":"small-image","abstract":"OTI on the IRS improperly sharing Americans' confidential tax information.","subheading":"","read_time":"","watch_time":"","podcast_player":"","apple_podcast_link":"","spotify_podcast_link":"","podcast_link":null,"listen_time":"","youtube_id":"","":null,"featured_image":44089,"add_image_caption":false,"caption":"","pdf_version":null,"helper_taxonomies":{"issue_tax":[78],"topic_tax":[116],"program_tax":[147],"project_tax":false,"person_tax":[658],"fellowship_tax":false,"event_type":false,"location":false,"insight_type":[3807],"award":false,"podcast_show_tax":false,"person_type":false,"demographic_key":false,"survey_topic":false,"organization":false},"media_inquiry":false,"media_inquiry_title":"","media_inquiry_email":""},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"add_background_color":false,"content":"

WASHINGTON\u2014In response to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) having<\/b> improperly shared<\/b><\/a> Americans\u2019 confidential tax information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Open Technology Institute (OTI), a New America program fostering equitable access to digital technology and its benefits, issued the following statement from Senior Policy Analyst Sydney Saubestre.<\/b><\/p>

"The reported sharing of confidential IRS taxpayer information with immigration enforcement is not a technical misstep. It breaches a legal firewall designed to protect the public and Americans\u2019 trust in the government. This is our data, and OTI has long warned that any use of IRS records for purposes other than tax administration puts all taxpayers\u2019 privacy at risk. We provide this data to the federal government in a specific context and for a specific purpose: to comply with tax law and pay our taxes. Data exchanges are part of the social contract\u2014the government collects this information, and, in return, the government must hold up its end of the bargain by using that data only for the purposes promised. The data sharing agreement that the IRS and DHS entered into back in April doesn\u2019t change that.\u00a0<\/p>

The people whose records were disclosed were doing exactly what the law requires. They paid their taxes and shared deeply personal information under explicit guarantees of confidentiality. Yet, their trust was betrayed, and the protections meant to keep their information safe were broken. These safeguards are not optional; they exist to prevent misuse of taxpayers\u2019 sensitive data. And in this case, the misuse came from the federal government itself\u2014the very entity entrusted to uphold and protect our personal information.\u00a0<\/p>

Data is a core part of our government\u2019s fabric, and every time firewalls like this are breached, that fabric frays. The message is clear: The government\u2019s promises about data use are conditional. When those promises can be ignored, trust breaks down, participation decreases, and the integrity of every federal system is weakened."<\/p>

OTI has pushed for and written extensively on the responsible use of American data. To learn more, be sure to check out the following:<\/b><\/p>