BCS demands social media platforms to start verifying users to reduce online abuse

User verification can be implemented without compromising the personal privacy of users, it says

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT is calling for social media platforms to start requiring users to verify their identity in order to help curb anonymous racism and other abuses targeted at vulnerable groups.

The move comes following England's Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy on Monday that led to a flood of abusive and racist posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, specifically targeting three players of England national football team, in the wake of their missed penalties in the shoot-out.

Twitter and Facebook condemned the abusive posts as "abhorrent", claiming that thousands of such posts have been removed from their platforms.

However, many people are not satisfied that social media companies are doing enough, believing concrete action is now needed to combat the issue.

"Despite the boycotts and some technical changes from big tech companies, some people still see social media as a consequence-free playground for racial abuse - as we saw last night with England players," said Dr Bill Mitchell, director of policy at the BCS.

"IT experts think these platforms should ask people to verify their real ID behind account handles," he added.

According to Mitchell, user verification on online platforms can be easily implemented without compromising the personal privacy of users.

"Public anonymity is important to large groups of people and so no-one should have to use their real name online and any verification details behind the account must be rigorously protected," he said.

In a statement, digital secretary Oliver Dowden also said that social media platforms should be held responsible for online abuse. He added that the government's proposed Online Safety Bill could see the companies fined "up to 10 per cent of global revenue".

In April, the BCS released results of a survey in which 64 per cent of 1,804 participants agreed that online platforms should demand official ID from users so that people could be held accountable for their objectionable posts. Twenty-six per cent of the survey respondents said users should not be asked to verify their identity, while 10 per cent were undecided.

In May, English Premier League, FA Women's Super League and English Football League clubs also took part in a boycott of social media platforms to end abuse and discrimination. Many celebrities including former model Katie Price and Manchester Utd captain Harry Maguire called on digital firms to demand official IDs as a means to track trolling.

Social networking platforms have previously opposed the idea of introducing identification verification, arguing that it could lead to privacy issues for users. They also say that user verification would be unfair as many people currently don't have access to an official ID. They also face legal challenges in the US if they are judged to be media companies responsible for the content they publish rather than simple technology platforms.

However, Open Rights Group (ORG) policy manager Heather Burns believes mandatory identity verification is not the right way to combat online abuse.

In a blog post, Burns said that in most cases, it is possible to identify the perpetrator through details held by a platform, or in combination with information from an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

"Making this entirely Facebook and Twitter's problem to solve is simply an abdication of responsibility," she said.

"If the police act now to ensure that racists are found and prosecuted, particularly those whose actions are most reprehensible, or have had the most impact, then the result is that others will understand that their actions have consequences."

"We should take the anger felt today against racist abuse of footballers and turn it into something positive: actual action against racists. Anything less is a failure of our legal and policing system and a de facto accommodation with racism."