Let users only see accounts that verify ID, says MP group

SOCIAL MEDIA users should have the power to block anonymous “unverified” accounts to prevent online abuse that is “ruining people’s lives”, say MPS.

Maria Miller, the former culture secretary, is leading a cross-party campaign for social media firms to enable individuals to set up a “verified” account by supplying personal identification that would then allow them to filter out “unverified” users.

The campaign, launched today by the group Compassion in Politics, is calling for the measure to be included in the Government’s new duty of care laws and is backed by exclusive polling which shows more than eight in ten people support the change.

Ms Miller, who was also minister for women and equalities, said: “Abuse, bullying and harassment on social media platforms is ruining lives, undermining our democracy and splintering society. The Online Harms Bill must deal with anonymous social media accounts. I support a twin-track system: giving social media users the opportunity to create a ‘verified’ account and the ability to filter out ‘unverified’ accounts. This approach would need to be coupled with enforcement.

“For too long social media companies have escaped liability for the harm they cause by citing legal loopholes [and] arguing they are platforms for content not producers or publishers. The legal environment must change to better reflect their previously unimaginable reach and influence.”

The campaign cited a high-profile case where the majority of racial abuse sent on Twitter to a group of black footballers – including the Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford – came from anonymous accounts.

A poll of more than 2,000 adults by Opinium, for Compassion in Politics, found 81 per cent of social media users said they would be willing to provide a piece of personal identification in order to receive a “verified” account.

Most social media platforms require only an email address, leaving users free to create an account in which all the other information is fake. The proposed system would allow all verified users to block unverified ones and to never see content from those accounts.

In the survey, 72 per cent said they would choose to remove all unverified user content from their feed if that option was available.