Three major tax prep companies illegally shared taxpayers' sensitive financial data with tech giants Google and Meta for years, according to the results of a congressional investigation. A group of seven lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), has called for potential criminal charges against the companies, citing violations of taxpayer privacy laws, along with new policies and the creation of a government-run electronic tax free-file system. The lawmakers presented their own findings in a report, building on reports from The Markup and The Verge, which initially exposed the data sharing.
According to the report, the tax prep firms were "careless" with their treatment of taxpayer data and didn't understand the extent to which that data would be shared and used by the tech firms.
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