Everyone wants online IDs strictly controlled — their way

European politicians are nearing a deal to push accountability on online posters through digital ID verification, while in China, executives of a social media service are doing the same thing.

In between are a lot of freaked out Reddit members who see slippery slopes, new world orders and imminent dystopia in any effort to verify online identities. Many of them also want to control the identities — particularly those of reptilians and world dictators hiding in plain sight.

A penultimate agreement reached April 23 in the European Union set the stage for approval of the historic Digital Services Act. If it gets a final sign-off, the act will impose rules designed to make it harder for harmful and illegal content to show up on online platforms.

Two outcomes of the act would be to make it harder to sew misinformation and post fraudulent product and service reviews.

Five days later, according to the South China Morning Post, officials of niche Chinese social media service Douban decided they would only post communication from people who submit a mobile number from the mainland or government-issued ID documents.

The autocratic Chinese Communist Party is in the midst of a censorious spasm, demanding businesses and, in the case of social media, their customers hew to official dogma and reject liberal international influences.

Douban executives acquiesced. They now require their remaining vetted members to further verify their identity with facial recognition before they can create a discussion group, according to Morning Post reporting.

It appears to be part of a campaign to bully Douban for its comparatively liberal discussions of modern culture by young and educated posters.

Meanwhile, on r/conspiracy, posters are reacting to news that Elon Musk, new owner of Twitter, wants to expand the number of people who can get the platform’s Verified authentication badge.

At the moment, at least, getting the blue check to display on a Twitter account is a somewhat involved process that begins with digital ID verification, according to culture site ScreenRant.

Many of the Reddit missives range from concerns that Musk is in league with shadow governments to claims that he plans to implant control chips in “normy” brains.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  China  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  fraud prevention  |  identity verification  |  legislation  |  privacy  |  regulation  |  social media  |  UK