‘Extraordinarily Sensitive’ Personal Data Handed Over to Meta by Tax-Preparation Firms: Report

Three tax-preparation companies have shared sensitive personal information of millions of taxpayers with Meta and other Big Tech companies like Google, according to a new report by congressional Democrats.
The tax-prep companies—TaxAct, H&R Block, and TaxSlayer—are said to have “shared millions of taxpayers’ data with Meta, Google, and other Big Tech firms” using computer code known as pixels, according to the July 12 report (pdf). Pixels, used across the internet, is a piece of code on websites that is used to gather information about visitors that helps in understanding their interests and behaviors.
“Tax-prep companies shared extraordinarily sensitive personal and financial information with Meta,” the report said. Collected data include names, tax information, and details of dependents among others….