Solving Fakery, Crimes & Lies with Verified Accounts and Drones
If the current trends continue unchecked, society and lives are at risk from bad actors online. We have a president who says “fake news” on a daily basis, and people have killed themselves because of the impact anonymous online comments can have.
Problem #1 — Privacy
People love being anonymous online. We know this from user names — regardless of platform, most people choose to no use their first and last names. And there is a real use in anonymity for heated but lawful discussion.
Forcing people to be identifiable online will simply scare them from a platform that requires it.
- Don’t want your real name visible
- Don’t trust that the data used to verify you is kept safe
Twitter suspended their verified account process in 2017, and that was only for well-known people who needed to distinguish themselves from fake accounts. Other platforms do not require serious verification — an email address and phone number are sufficient.
Problem #2 — Fake News
Fake photos have been around for a long time, but now we have fake videos — deep fakes. And fake news, stories that are deliberately intended to have a political effect.
Fakery will only become more sophisticated with time. While major platforms can create tools to detect fakery, they will always be playing catch-up.
And fake news can spread through any system or platform, even offline.
With instant news, it is easy for fake news to gain momentum before it can be countered with common sense.
Solution #1 — Offline Verification Storage
The reason why verified accounts in social media has not happened yet is tech people are looking for tech solutions. Lately the focus has been on blockchains, which regular people do not understand and/or trust.
Once a person has been verified, they can be assigned a verification number. That number is not attached to anything else online*, it solely designates you as a verified user. You will be free to use any username, and use any lies in your bio that you choose. Nothing will be checked or compared with the proof of ID that you used.
The proof you provide can consist of:
- phone number
- address (utility bill or respond to a postcard sent to you)
- photo ID
- biometric data (fingerprint, iris scan)**
Stored Offline: The safety of your data is guaranteed because it is not stored online, and not stored together. Each piece of proof is stored physically, offline, in different places around the world. They will be delivered to those places non-digitally. If you provide three proofs of ID, they will each be stored in different places, perhaps your email in Bulgaria, your address in Switzerland and your photo ID in Peru. Each filed by your verification number. The only risk of data theft will be at any online point of collection. Offline collection could be an option.
The Twist: Identifying proof is not needed until you do something wrong. Something legally wrong. The gathering of the offline data to prove who you are will not be efficient. It will be slow and require a court order.
Why It Works: People will still be anonymous online, and they can do anything legal they want online, even unsavoury things. But if they do something criminal, they can be identified. And go to prison.
Zero risk for good people, and punishment for people who currently cannot be identified.
Predictably this would create a division online, where you can choose verified platforms, or the Wild West alternatives. That is fine.
This verified ID system could be extended to other uses, including online voting.
Solution #2 a— Permanent Public Activity Recording
As an extreme example, Donald Trump. He makes a lot of public appearances, and he filmed a lot. The potential for 3rd party created media to be adulterated is huge.
The solution is an official recording of every public appearance.
- Operated by a trusted 3rd party
- Recorded by a drone that flies above and in front of the person
- Timestamped
The recordings are then stored securely and kept only for one reason, to refute fake news and deep fakery.
Why It Works: The person affected will always be able to provide definitive evidence of the true story. They can also use a trusted platform to share their media. If the media comes from elsewhere, it is not verified, and cannot be trusted.
For example, a Donald Trump press conference will have an official recording, accessible only from the trusted platform. If it is accessed from anywhere else, it cannot be trusted.
Trump will be able to ask “where did you see it?”
Solution #2b — Verified News Services
News services should create a guild, and only allow services that meet certain criteria to join, such as.
- Subscriber/viewer numbers
- Verified journalists
- Original content
- Linking to the original source for stories they didn’t create
Just like social media, the Internet would split it half. There will be verified news that you trust, and everything else for whoever distrusts MSM (mainstream media).
Why It Works: Fake or non-fake will no longer be a question with stories from verified news services. The language will change to trust or non-trust. That is a better place to decide where to consume news from.
*There will need to be a way of reclaiming an account if you lose access to it, like forgetting your password. So one aspect of your ID proof, presumably phone or email, will need to be stored in the system, online. Neither are proof of who you are, as they can be stolen or hacked.
**Biometric data would need to be gathered in combination with other data, like photographing you holding photo ID next to your face. Or gathered offline. This is for the future, and not needed at this stage.
