Twitter is Requesting Government-Issued Photo IDs to Unlock Accounts. It Must Stop!
The Social Media Giant Has to Find Another Way to Authenticate User Accounts
People have contacted the From The G-Man office and asked why the site’s original Twitter account can no longer be accessed. The reason is because the account was locked after a change was made in the “Date of Birth” section. The original date that was posted was October 25, 1962, which is the birth date of the site’s founder and editor-in-chief. The date was changed so that it would reflect the actual day and month that the site was actually launched, which was February 7, 2009. Seconds after the date was changed, a Twitter notification popped up indicating the account had been locked because the social media platform doesn’t allow anyone younger than 13 to have an account. The site was not aware of the policy.
Here is the message that was sent by Twitter.
Your account @TheGMan7 has been locked
In order to create a Twitter account, you must be at least 13 years old. Twitter has determined that you don’t meet these age requirements, so your account has been locked and will be removed from Twitter.
As was the case when Google, without explanation or warning, deleted the original version of this news site back in June of this year, an 11-year catalog of special features and original investigative reports was going to be deleted from Twitter. Unlike the Google situation, it would be done because of a simple mistake. From The G-Man immediately contacted Twitter to try and rectify the situation and inform the company that the account was set up as a business, not an individual. Subsequently, the news office received a very disturbing response that warrants an investigation by members of Congress, the Department of Justice, and every state attorney general in the country.
Twitter has a policy in place that requires anyone that is locked out of their account to upload a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, to unlock the account. Given the fact that this news platform, and its founder, has received numerous threats and continues to get strange calls from private numbers, the site refused to comply with the request. However, an attempt was made to settle the matter by submitting a photo of a New York State Senate proclamation, which is a state-certified and state-issued document, that the site’s founder received for “dedicated service to the state of New York and the communications and media industry.” It was submitted with the notion that Twitter officials would be smart enough to realize no child would receive this type of award. Hence, the account would be verified and unlocked. A link to this news site was also published on the locked account, which presented Twitter with another option to verify the business account and review the founder’s professional background. Clearly, as illustrated in the following message, the social media giant did not even bother to exercise that option.
Case# 0180845451: Appeal an account suspension or locked account [ ref:_00DA0K0A8._5004w224MeE:ref ]
Hello,
Thanks for reaching out.
We weren’t able to confirm identity using the information you provided.
Please use the link below to upload a copy of a valid and legible government-issued ID, like a driver’s license or a passport. We need to be able to see your full name, date of birth, and photo. All the information you submit will be kept confidential.
Please upload your documents here.
Please note, submitting fake or forged documents could lead to permanent removal of the account.
After you’ve uploaded the ID, we’ll continue our review.
Thanks,
Rather than engage in an ongoing war of words with the company, a new From The G-Man Twitter account was created. In the process, the site lost many of its followers and supporters from the old account, which included celebrities and government officials.
From The G-Man feels that Twitter has no legal right to request such documentation from users because requests like this are customarily made by government agencies or financial institutions. Twitter is a private company and has no business asking anyone for photo IDs or passports. Moreover, it’s a private company that’s been the subject of numerous hacks and serious security breaches over the last several years. Thus, Twitter cannot claim or guarantee that ….“All the information you submit will be kept confidential.” Twitter cannot claim or guarantee the forms of identification being requested won’t ever be compromised or that millions of people in this country or abroad won’t be targeted, financially or physically, if hackers gain access to their database of IDs.
Twitter’s history of hacks speaks for itself, and From The G-Man urges lawmakers, law enforcement officials at the highest level, attorneys, and civil rights advocates and organizations to not only take a long and hard look at this practice, but to take action and inform Twitter that the policy is irresponsible and unacceptable.
Correction: The report notes that Twitter is a private company. At this time, it is still listed as a public company.
UPDATE – April 25, 2022 (3:40 PM-ET): Elon Musk Taking Twitter Private in $44 Billion Deal