This is a terrifying norm I’ve been seeing in fandom recently, with a lot of people asking for photo ID’s to enter a server or for 18+ commissions or to follow a private Twitter account. While I understand the sentiment and realize that there’s an issue of minors trying to get into adult spaces, this is an incredibly dangerous practice that needs to stop.
I have seen this popping up more and more in the past year and frankly, I’m sick of sitting back and watching it become a social norm. Not to mention, there is a huge difference between a company with a team of lawyers and legal statements with the intention to protect your information and giving this to a random person online.
Here is an article from IAPP discussing more in depth the current difficulties for age verification online. Thanks to @murmurkins for digging around to find this!
Here is also some resources for Discord specifically on how to moderate and run a server that has 18+ channels and designating a server as 18+. Discord also notes that if you are locked out of 18+ channels, you can appeal this by sending a picture of yourself and either a photo ID or your Discord tag. Again, while not a perfect solution, this is their last resort, not the intial requirement. It’s dangerous to do, and Discord recognizes this, which is why they have a system to protect your information AND they require that all third-party individuals have a privacy policy telling individuals how they will protect others’ information.
If anyone wants to respond to this post with more information on other websites, feel free! The biggest issue I have seen with this is on Discord, so that is where my information is focused.
TL;DR: Don’t give your ID out online to random people for your safety. Make sure who you are giving personal information to has a privacy policy. While it is an issue that minors are accessing 18+ content, this is not a safe solution to the problem.
I remember when Y!Gallery tried this back in, like, 2012. And most of us flatly refused. This blows my mind. What happened to the never share personal details online mindset of the 90s and early 2000s?
Facebook. Facebook happened.
There is NO VALID REASON for anyone online to ask for your photo ID.
Because - and hey, this is a BIG THING - you show photo ID in person so the viewer can look at it, and you, and say, “yep, those match.”
If you are conversing via email or chat… they cannot look at your face and confirm it matches the card.
If they CAN confirm it matches the card (like you’re meeting in Zoom)…. you can photoshop the damn card to attach your face to it.
You cannot usefully check photo ID online. The vast majority of people asking for “photo ID” are identify fraudsters, and the rest are people who don’t understand tech & security.
Do not share your ID with anyone online.