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Want a tick mark next to your name? Koo enables Aadhaar-based self-verification for all users

Will major platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube follow suit?

Micro-blogging platform Koo will allow all its Indian users to voluntarily self-verify using Aadhaar, the company announced on April 6. Users who are successfully verified will receive a tick next to their name similar to the Eminence Tick offered by Koo but in a different colour.

“It is an opportunity for users to demonstrate that there is an authentic user behind a Koo profile,” the platform said. “We believe that by self-verifying themselves, users can help to curb the spread of unwarranted content proliferated under the veil of anonymity,” Koo added.

With this, Koo becomes the first social media platform to comply with Rule 4(7) of the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021. But the use of government-approved IDs such as Aadhaar to carry out this self-verification process comes with its own set of privacy and surveillance concerns.

“This is a huge step towards lending greater authenticity to users and promoting responsible behavior on the platform. Most social media platforms only give this power to some accounts. Koo is the first platform that has now empowered every user to have the same privilege,” – Aprameya Radhakrishna, cofounder and CEO of Koo


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What do the IT Rules say?

As per Rule 4(7) of the IT Rules:

“[A] significant social media intermediary shall enable users who register for their services from India, or use their services in India, to voluntarily verify their accounts by using any appropriate mechanism, including the active Indian mobile number of such users, and where any user voluntarily verifies their account, such user shall be provided with a demonstrable and visible mark of verification, which shall be visible to all users of the service.” (emphasis ours)

A significant social media intermediary is any social media intermediary with over 5 million registered users in India and Koo satisfies this threshold.

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Where do other social media platforms stand?

Other major platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are yet to comply with Rule 4(7). While most of them allow verification for certain categories of people like celebrities and journalists, the rule requires platforms to enable the feature for all users.

  • TwitterGovernment departments and officials, brands, leaders of brands, journalists, news organisations, entertainment and production companies, professional sports team and leagues, professional athletes, activists, content creators, and influential individuals are eligible to apply for the blue check on Twitter, but are not guaranteed one.
  • Facebook: Public figures, celebrities or brands can have their profiles or pages verified.
  • YouTube: Official channel of a creator, artist, company, or public figure, which has over 100,000 subscribers, is eligible to apply for verification.

Aadhaar is mandatory for self-verification

Koo stated that users can use Aadhaar or any other government ID to self-verify, but when we tried the process, the Aadhaar number was the only option to proceed with the verification process.

The mandatory requirement of Aadhaar was further confirmed by Koo on its FAQs page where it stated:

“The Self Verification feature is available to Koo users who have a Koo account and an Indian phone number linked to a valid Aadhaar number issued by the UIDAI. If you do not have an Indian phone number linked to  a Government-issued Aadhaar Number you will not be able to voluntarily self verify yourself.”

Once the user inputs their Aadhaar registered mobile number, they will receive an OTP to complete the self-verification process and receive the tick.

What are some concerns with self-verification?

  1. No data protection regime to govern how IDs are stored and used: Although the IT Rules state that “the information received for the purpose of verification shall not be used for any other purpose, unless the user expressly consents to such use,” there is no data protection regime in place to ensure this. And while we wait for the Data Protection Bill 2021 to become law, there is uncertainty on how any platform will use and store the government-issued IDs collected for verification. This could very well become an additional data point for companies that can be used in ways to which the user did not consent.
  2. Allows the government to more easily track down critics: “If any harassment or unlawful activities were to occur by a verified user, legal remedies are more easily available as you can identify who you want to take action against,” Koo stated as one of the benefits of self-verification. But this very benefit has a flip side. Suppose a critic of the government says something that the government wrongly deems as unlawful because it might cause a disruption to “public order” or constitutes “hate speech”, it will be way easier to track down the said critic because of the lack of anonymity.

Will not store sensitive information shared during verification: Koo

  1. No information shared while verification is stored by Koo: To alleviate some of the concerns outlined above, Koo said that it will not store the information shared while verification. “Koo does not store any Aadhaar data related to the process of self-verification. Koo only records whether an Aadhaar number submitted for verification was validated or rejected by UIDAI,” the platform said.
  2. The process will be carried out by third parties: The validation process will be carried out by government-authorized third parties who comply with the legal requirements of UIDAI in relation to the storage and management of data, the company said. The companies that are currently hired include Surepass Technologies, Repyute Networks, and DeskNine.
  3. Verification is not mandatory: “As the name suggests, voluntary verification is an entirely voluntary process. No user will be penalised for choosing not to self verify themselves,” Koo stated, in line with what the IT Rules prescribe.

What are some of the benefits of self-verification?

On its FAQs page, Koo highlighted the following benefits of self-verification:

  1. Authenticity: “A self-verified user is an authentic voice on the internet and other users can interact with such users with the knowledge and security that a Self Verified user is a responsible and authentic social media user.”
  2. Legitimacy: “More legitimacy to voice on the internet. Other users are likely to trust and interact with a user who has Self Verified themselves, rather than an unverified user.”
  3. Less likely to engage in unwarranted behaviour: Users voluntarily self-verifying themselves  are unlikely to indulge in unwarranted behaviour on the platform, Koo said.
  4. Reduces threat of impersonation: “If User A complains that User B is impersonating him/her, User A can simply voluntarily verify themselves on Koo. This will enable Koo to determine the legitimacy of the verified user’s claim and takedown impersonating content. If necessary, this will also make it easier for law enforcement agencies to take speedy and appropriate action.” This last point makes even more sense when seen from the perspective of dating apps, which have a huge catfishing problem, one that Tinder is trying to navigate through user verification.

How is self-verification different from Eminence Tick?

Koo will continue having its eminence tick feature, which according to the platform, “is awarded to our qualifying users recognising their eminence or achievements in the Indian society, specifically across sports, entertainment, media, spirituality, literature, and politics.” Eminent users are granted a yellow tick next to their names on their Koo profiles.

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