Should the web move to verified identities?

Australia has made it illegal for under-16s to hold social media accounts, turning the country into a global test case. Platforms are purging suspected underage profiles to avoid penalties, yet minors face no sanctions for lying about their age. The move spotlights a bigger 2026 question: should the internet shift toward verified identities?

Why bans alone fall short

• Bans often fuel demand and push young people to riskier, harder-to-monitor spaces.
• Age gates rely on facial analysis or government IDs, raising data collection and storage privacy concerns.
• Meanwhile, phishing, romance scams, and financial fraud keep thriving—evidence the current, largely anonymous model is struggling.

Abuse isn’t always ‘somewhere else’

• A BBC review logged roughly 2,000 highly abusive posts aimed at UK football figures in a single weekend.
• With weak identity checks and VPN use, tracing offenders is difficult.
• Platforms fear added sign-up friction will shrink user counts and ad revenue.

An opt-in, verified layer for the web

• Let users filter posts, messages, and emails from non-verified accounts.
• Keep pseudonyms public while platforms privately verify real identities.
• Extend verified-only interactions for minors to cut exposure to abuse and scams.
• Add an email filter for “unverified senders” to reduce spear-phishing.
• Not a silver bullet—account hijacking still happens—but accountability rises.

Free speech, choice, and incentives

• Verification doesn’t silence speech; it gives people control over what they see.
• Companies may need to accept onboarding friction and rethink growth metrics.
• Age-based content controls alone won’t curb abuse; bans can drive behavior underground.

Bottom line
A web that distinguishes between verified and non-verified users could meaningfully reduce harm while preserving public anonymity. The goal isn’t to end speech—it’s to give people safer, higher-quality interactions by letting them choose verified-only spaces.

Source: WeLiveSecurity