Social Media Research Request
The purpose of this Amendment (2032H8-RFI-MEDIA A0001) is to make updates to the listed RFI (see below information). This RFI has a closing date of February 25, 2019. All questions is due no later than February 14, 2019 @ 10:00 A.M., EST. Vendor demonstration will take place the week of March 4, 2019. If you have any concerns for the listed RFI, please e-mail me @ kelvin.bogan@irs.gov.
This RFI is the first request for information or tools available in the marketplace. The IRS requests responses to this RFI be provided no later than 9:00 A.M. EST on February 25, 2019 by an e-mail (with the subject line "Social Media Vendor Supplied Research RFI Response") to the procurement email inbox Kelvin.Bogan@irs.gov. Although there are no specific restrictions for formatting, please keep all responses to ten pages or less, adhere to general formatting principles, and ensure that responses are legible. Responders should be aware that there is no guarantee the IRS will have funding or issue a solicitation generated from this RFI, nor will the IRS be responsible for reimbursing a vendor's costs in responding to this RFI. RFI response for questions and answers will be summarized and posted to www.FBO.gov no later than February 14, 2019 @ 10:00 A.M., EST.
In addition, during this pre-procurement phase and as part of market research, the IRS would like interested electronic research vendors to demonstrate their products during the week of March 4, 2019. Vendors must do this by a web-conferencing tool such as WebEx, Saba Meeting, ClearSlide, or GotoMeeting. Prior to the demonstration, vendors should reach out to the Contracting Officer and Point of Contact specified above, to ensure IRS attendees can access the vendor's web-conferencing tool.
IRM Policy 11.3.21.8.1 outlines IRS policy regarding its employees' use of internet based social media research. It is largely prohibitive. For work purposes, the IRS generally bars most employees from logging into any social media site with a user ID and password. This means employees typically may not use personal social media accounts for work, and they may not create government or fictitious social media accounts to carry out compliance-related work. See IRM 11.3.21.8.1(4). In addition, IRS cybersecurity limits employees' ability to view or access publicly available information on social media sites.
Businesses and individuals increasingly use social media to advertise, promote, and sell products and services. For example, taxpayers can create "online stores" on social networking sites free of cost. Much of this information is unrestricted, allowing the public, businesses and various governmental agencies to discover taxpayers' locations and income sources.
But the IRS currently has no formal tool to access this public information, compile social media feeds, or search multiple social media sites. The IRS's hope is that a vendor-supplied tool would help expedite IRS case resolution for existing compliance cases, providing a more efficient way of identifying resources and assisting with the collection of known tax deficiencies, leading to increased collection of revenue involving unfiled tax returns and other tax liabilities.
The IRS emphasizes that this tool, if the agency decides to pursue the use of it, would be done to assist with previously identified tax compliance cases. The IRS respects taxpayer rights, and such a tool would not be used to search the internet or social media sites for purposes of identifying or initiating new tax audits. The IRS believes responsibly using publicly accessible information on the internet or social media sites can assist with previously identified tax cases. In addition, the IRS believes the tool can help it resolve troublesome instances related to tax-related identity theft, helping quickly identify honest taxpayers who have been victimized by identity thieves.
In addition to respecting taxpayer rights, the IRS will also be mindful that frequently information posted on social media and the internet may be wrong or misleading.
Please see attached document
Kelvin Bogan, Contracting Specialist, Phone 2406139353, Email kelvin.bogan@irs.gov
