{"id":623399,"date":"2024-06-07T16:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T13:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/mandatory-id-for-social-media-would-solve-some-problems-but-create-a-lot-more\/"},"modified":"2024-06-07T16:04:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T13:04:02","slug":"mandatory-id-for-social-media-would-solve-some-problems-but-create-a-lot-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mandatory-id-for-social-media-would-solve-some-problems-but-create-a-lot-more\/","title":{"rendered":"#Mandatory ID for social media would solve some problems \u2014 but create a lot more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2fcd064533d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2fcd064533d\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mandatory-id-for-social-media-would-solve-some-problems-but-create-a-lot-more\/#The_societal_and_political_impact_of_social_media\" >The societal and political impact of social media<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mandatory-id-for-social-media-would-solve-some-problems-but-create-a-lot-more\/#The_upside_of_identification_on_social_media\" >The upside of identification on social media<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mandatory-id-for-social-media-would-solve-some-problems-but-create-a-lot-more\/#The_downsides_of_linking\" >The downsides of linking<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mandatory-id-for-social-media-would-solve-some-problems-but-create-a-lot-more\/#Finding_ways_to_make_it_work\" >Finding ways to make it work<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mandatory-id-for-social-media-would-solve-some-problems-but-create-a-lot-more\/#Not_rocking_the_boat\" >Not rocking the boat<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2024%2F06%2FSocialmedia-pm-e1717764952493.jpg&amp;signature=bc80b9108cd9a131bf773e8a2656cf62\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social media<\/a> is central in many of our lives, but few would say that\u2019s a good thing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite its initial promise, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/article\/id\/435310-do-europeans-think-social-media-is-harmful\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">swathes of Europeans<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> feel the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> has had a negative impact on society. While it promised to bring us together, the opposite has h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just look at any event from the past few years; whether it\u2019s the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">war in Ukraine<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/05\/13\/europe-eu-elections-youth-far-right-populism\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">countries swinging towards populism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">digital election manipulation<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it appears social media has taken bad situations and made them worse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The strange thing is that even though we\u2019ve coexisted with the technology for decades now, we\u2019re no closer to solving these issues \u2014 and with the European Parliament elections taking place this week, it\u2019s as good a time as ever to ponder how we might fix this disinformation and toxicity online.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<p class=\"ica-text__title\">TNW Conference, June 20-21 &#8211; 80% tickets SOLD OUT<\/p>\n<p>Cease all the networking opportunities: roundtables, masterclasses, tech tours, 1:1s&#8230; Last chance to book before we run out!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And one idea that won\u2019t go away? Requiring people inside the EU to use identification before they can post on social media. But is this a good idea? Could it help make online platforms safer and more trustworthy?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_societal_and_political_impact_of_social_media\"><\/span><strong>The societal and political impact of social media<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ben Dubow, a Senior Fellow at <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cepa.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Center for European Policy Analysis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (CEPA), says that social media is accused of \u201cpromoting a wide variety of ills relating to society and elections.\u201d This includes disinformation, the degradation of teen mental health, extreme polarisation, and foreign interference in state matters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This viewpoint is supported by Andrew Bud from <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iproov.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">iProov<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a London-based identity verification and authentication service. \u201cPublic authorities have gone on record to show that tens of thousands of social media accounts with bogus identities \u2026 are being used by foreign adversaries to subvert public confidence and sow confusion about many issues,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the surface, things seem clear: social media is being weaponised against both democracy and individuals. Yet it\u2019s not quite as simple as that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dubow from CEPA cautions against viewing social media\u2019s negative impact on elections as pure fact. He says that while foreign influence and nefarious bot use is prevalent, \u201cthe research establishing their connection to voting patterns or belief formation is still ongoing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On this topic, Matthew Lesh \u2014 the director of public policy and communications at <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/iea.org.uk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the UK\u2019s Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 tells TNW<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that \u201cthe idea that social media can swing election outcomes, let alone change results, is substantially unproven.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He believes that most people still get their information from more traditional sources and \u201cthe impact of a relatively small amount of false, foreign-generated information is limited.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In summation, although there is clear evidence that bots and foreign governments are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trying<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to influence elections, there\u2019s little firm proof it\u2019s actually working, even if it might feel as if it is on a personal or societal level.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_upside_of_identification_on_social_media\"><\/span><strong>The upside of identification on social media<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the political impact of social media is still fiercely debated, both Dubow and Bud emphasised the negative mental health impact it has on people \u2014 <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7364393\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">something with far more science behind it<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Bud says, \u201cunconstrained bullying and attacks on individuals can have a devastating effect on their mental health, and have been implicated in numerous cases of suicide or depression in victims.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With all this in mind, could requiring ID to use social media positively impact people both politically and socially?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CEPA\u2019s Dubow believes so. \u201cBy massively raising the cost of creating fake personas \u2026 online discourse could become more driven by individuals,\u201d rather than the technologically competent or wealthy who can \u201cdevote significant time and money to creating bot armies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bud from iProov concurs, saying that tying social media to ID will lead to an increase in personal accountability. It\u2019s this lack of accountability, he believes, which is \u201cat the root of much of the bullying and toxic behaviour found on social media.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In regards to foreign actors using bots and digital manipulation techniques to try and influence politics, Bud is unequivocal in its effectiveness: \u201cOnly ID verification of account holders can solve this \u2014 there is no other way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_downsides_of_linking\"><\/span><strong>The downsides of linking<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All this sounds incredibly positive, so should we steam ahead and encourage governments to instil identity verification for social media? That\u2019s probably not the best idea.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rashik Parmar is the chief executive of <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcs.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BCS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, The Chartered Institute for IT in the UK. He says that while the group\u2019s members see benefits in social media verification, \u201cthey also recognise that there are serious challenges\u201d to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, public anonymity is important to large groups of people, especially those in dangerous or vulnerable situations, a long list that includes individuals like whistleblowers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lesh from the IEA is even franker. \u201cThe linking of identity to social media accounts would be a serious violation of user privacy and freedom of expression,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He splits the problems into two main points. The first being societal, where he believes requiring ID for posting online would \u201chave a chilling effect on people speaking their minds on social media for fear of repercussions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second point is security. Because digital organisations would actually have to hold this identity data, he believes it would<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> raise all sorts of \u201chacking and infiltration\u201d risks. Currently, when you have to verify your identity online (think of betting sites) there\u2019s little set protocol for how to handle it. Sometimes it\u2019s held, sometimes it\u2019s deleted. The issue is that by spreading it far and wide, you\u2019re open to more potential for abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All four experts we spoke with were united in the belief that requiring ID for social media has a wealth of potential downsides, with security concerns topping the list of worries.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finding_ways_to_make_it_work\"><\/span><strong>Finding ways to make it work<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bud from iProov believes that there is a way security concerns can be mitigated: \u201cThe user\u2019s identity must be protected and firewalled, for example by holding it in a secure safe harbour, and only connected following a legally sound due process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital identity in this form is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">something we\u2019ve spoken about before<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, specifically the idea of government bodies like the EU holding the data with its <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/digital-building-blocks\/sites\/display\/EUDIGITALIDENTITYWALLET\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital Identity Wallet scheme<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and only allowing verification to third parties, rather than Meta, X, or Snapchat all separately storing your details.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using this method, those platforms would send a request to an external system about, say, whether the person is over 21, and it receives a yes or no response \u2014 not any personal information. These can work using the aforementioned Digital Identity Wallet project, or, indeed, blockchain schemes that aim to <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ibm.com\/thought-leadership\/institute-business-value\/report\/digital-identity\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">put users in control of their own information<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Much of the technology to make this happen already exists, but there isn\u2019t enough interoperability between, say, different governments to make it successful world-wide. Which is a problem on the incredibly global scale of the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The issue, though, is far more societally complex. When it comes to free speech and expression, do we fully trust governments to decide who can and can\u2019t comment? To hold the power over vetting someone to use social media? That sounds like the slipperiest slope around.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plus, as Lesh says, \u201cit would also remove from public debate many people who do not have identity documents\u201d \u2014 which is about <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/gds.blog.gov.uk\/2023\/02\/24\/helping-more-people-to-prove-their-identity-online\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3.5 million adults in the UK alone<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Not_rocking_the_boat\"><\/span><strong>Not rocking the boat<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s the answer? Should the EU require ID to use social media? There\u2019s no simple response to that. While this policy would have some positive impact on both the political climate and society at large, there will be a swing in the opposite direction too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By making it harder to use social media, you not only limit who can post, but also restrict the number of ideas circulating. To put it another way, you\u2019re jumping from the frying pan into the fire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This makes it highly unlikely that the EU will ever require ID for social media. There\u2019s simply too much uncertainty around the move and no clear way to see whether it\u2019d be a net positive or negative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There would need to be a clearer benefit to making a change this big, something that would deliver a sea change that would outweigh all the potential risks. And requiring ID to use social media isn\u2019t that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Things, for the moment, will stay as they are online. Sometimes, it\u2019s better the devil you know than the devil you don\u2019t.<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/mandatory-id-social-media-problems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social media is central in many of our lives, but few would say that\u2019s a good thing. Despite its initial promise, swathes of Europeans feel the technology has had a negative impact on society. While it promised to bring us together, the opposite has happened.\u00a0 Just look at any event from the past few years;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":623400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2024%2F06%2FSocialmedia-pm-e1717764952493.jpg&signature=164a233c2bde3d1d81c013d3fadd9caa","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-623399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}