For premium customers, X, previously Twitter, has introduced government ID-based account verification to deter impersonation and grant them advantages like “prioritized support.”
The social network and Israel-based Au10tix have a partnership to provide identity verification services. The Au10tix may save this information for up to 30 days, according to the pop-up requesting ID verification.
While ID verification is supposedly available in “many countries,” according to X’s support website for confirmation, it is not in the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA), or the United Kingdom. The strict data protection regulations in the area are probably to blame for this.
The ID-based verification is a redundant step that currently offers very few advantages. According to the age determined by the ID, the business stated it might age-gate some content.
“X currently focuses on account authentication to prevent impersonation and may explore additional measures, such as ensuring users have access to age-appropriate content and safeguarding healthy conversations from spam and malicious accounts,” it said.
A notice stating that their government ID was validated will be visible to users who pass through the verification badge. On the profile page, though, you can only see it by clicking on the blue checkmark. Additionally, the business said that users who have ID verification would receive “prioritized support from X Services,” but it is unclear what this actually entails.
Notably, the business released a feature allowing premium members to hide their checkmarks from their profiles last month.
If a user verifies their IDs, X stated that it will speed up the approval process for check marks in the future. Additionally, individuals will be able to frequently modify their names, usernames, or profile pictures without losing the checkmark.
Only paid customers are currently eligible for the company’s ID-based verification service. Ironically, X touts a reduction in spam and impersonation but doesn’t make verification tools available to all users.
Twitter’s old verification scheme was terminated in April, and accounts’ check marks were erased. However, because of the ensuing confusion, the business decided to bring back the checkmark for elite performances.
The social network updated its privacy statement last month to include the capability of collecting users’ biometric information, educational background, and employment history.
In a statement to Bloomberg at the time, X added, “This will additionally help us tie, for those that choose, an account to a real person by processing their government-issued ID.” Additionally, this will strengthen the platform’s security and aid X in thwarting impersonation efforts.
[Source of Information: Techcrunch.com]
