Instagram will now ask users engaging in coordinated inauthentic behaviour to start verifying their identities using government and other forms of IDs, the platform announced on August 13. If the account engages in coordinated inauthentic behaviour, has signs of automation, or has most of their followers in a different country from their own, they will be asked to show government IDs such as tax identification card, passport, birth certificate, etc., or other records such as school ID, electricity bill, etc., the company said. An uploaded ID will be stored “securely” and deleted within 30 days of the company completing its review, Instagram said. The ID will not be shared on the person’ profile. For an ID to be acceptable, the user cannot withhold or “electronically modify” any part of the ID. Instagram will simply “ignore” the sensitive personal information on an ID such as a social security number. It is not clear if in this interim 30-day period, Instagram will share these government IDs with the law enforcement agencies if it receives such a request from the latter. If a person chooses not to confirm their information, Instagram may reduce the distribution of their content or disable their account. At this stage, it is not known if the company will institute an appeals process. It is also not clear if this verification will be carried out only in the US or across the world, or if Facebook will also implement a similar policy. We have reached out to Facebook, Instagram’s…
