Online ID Checks: The KYC of the Internet?

A partnership of Big Government and Big Tech are pushing for ID verification to use the internet

Calls for Online ID are growing louder. Two primary issues are driving the charge:

1. Online age verification to protect minors

2. AI bot proliferation

There is a third reason in the background. It’s probably even the true motivation: government desire to oversee and control online speech. More on this possibility below, along with what you can do today to mitigate online ID requirements.

With the push for online ID verification, the quest for secure online identification methods that don't compromise privacy is ramping up. Recent developments in privacy-preserving online identification technologies promise a future where users can prove their identity without exposing unnecessary personal information. However, as with any technological advancement, we must approach these solutions with skepticism.

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The Online Age Verification Debate

The online age verification debate revolves around how to protect minors from inappropriate content online. Governments and platforms are increasingly pushing for mandatory age verification to comply with child protection laws, particularly for adult content or potentially harmful services. The impact on privacy for adults is, for the most part, an after thought.

Methods range from uploading government-issued IDs to using biometrics, but these solutions raise obvious privacy concerns. Centralized databases of sensitive personal information, such as IDs or biometric data, are highly vulnerable to breaches, misuse, or surveillance. 👇

Some privacy advocates support more privacy-friendly approaches, like anonymous token-based systems, but there’s concern these solutions may not be robust enough to prevent minors from bypassing restrictions. The debate remains contentious, balancing child safety with the risks of intrusive surveillance and potential data exploitation. MIT recently proposed a solution for “personhood verification”, which we discuss below.

Seventh Sense’s Digital ID: Biometrics + PKI

One of the newer players in this space, Seventh Sense, has introduced a digital ID system that uses a combination of biometrics and public key infrastructure (PKI). This technology aims to provide a secure and privacy-preserving solution for online identification.