For starters, I'd like to know how they handled those records. Was it in a HIPAA-compliant fashion?
Regardless of use or potential misuse of such data, us "mere mortals" can face serious challenges just for improperly maintaining it.
Is all this stuff sitting on some agents' laptops, somewhere? Given the security requirements for the IRS's own inherent data (or, I would hope they have such requirements), one might hope that the records are reasonably secure. But I can't help being somewhat skeptical on this point. And... such IRS requirements may not be HIPAA compliant.
My point is, amongst everything else, if the government is going to run around vacuuming up data wholesale, we can also look at whether they are even prepared to... "properly", and consistent with the government's own requirements, manage the data that they hoover.
Regardless of use or potential misuse of such data, us "mere mortals" can face serious challenges just for improperly maintaining it.
Is all this stuff sitting on some agents' laptops, somewhere? Given the security requirements for the IRS's own inherent data (or, I would hope they have such requirements), one might hope that the records are reasonably secure. But I can't help being somewhat skeptical on this point. And... such IRS requirements may not be HIPAA compliant.
My point is, amongst everything else, if the government is going to run around vacuuming up data wholesale, we can also look at whether they are even prepared to... "properly", and consistent with the government's own requirements, manage the data that they hoover.