.svg)
Social media has been a hot topic in recent weeks. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have faced criticism for the social ills that are enabled by their platforms.From racism, trolling to fake news, social media’s role in influencing elections, culture and radicalizing people is being questioned. Many people use these platforms to spread hate speech and misinformation, and do it anonymously – hiding behind fake names and avatars, with little to no consequences.So this begs the question – Should social media apps require government identification? It’s really not an easy one to answer…What are the pros and cons of adding government ID to these systems?Let’s dig into it.
Let’s start with Facebook. Facebook’s founding principle was to connect people across social and geographical borders.It has since grown into an international company, with its headquarters in Palo Alto, California – a largely liberal city that is home to the world’s largest concentration of venture capitalists. Facebook now claims it wants to be a force for social good around the world, but social media’s dark side has been lurking all along.It turns out that social networks have unintentionally or intentionally enabled the spread of misinformation, racism and radicalism – because it’s easy to create anonymous profiles on social sites with no consequences for their creators. And Facebook is not alone; it shares this issue with Twitter, Instagram and other platforms too.
Social media profiles would be connected to social security numbers or government-issued ID. This could make it easier for social networks like Facebook and Instagram to identify malicious accounts, removing them from the platform without being as reliant on user reporting.The downside is that social media platforms are meant for everyone – not just those with identification. Also, there are social media platforms that are developed for specific social groups who may have a need for privacy, because of religious or political reasons.Another downside is the cost and technology needed for this type of regulation – social media companies would need to ensure they verify identities seamlessly and this would require access to identification databases that currently only governments have access to.If you’re getting a bit creeped out by this thought, I feel you. Do you want your government to gain access to everything you do on social media and vice versa, do you want your favourite social media apps to gain even more access to your data?Truth be told, maybe both have too much data to begin with? Just a question…
Social media could be regulated by the government more, but there are many things to consider before a social network requires identification and it would likely have unintended consequences.Conclusion:In conclusion, social networks can and maybe should be regulated by the government but there are many considerations that need to take place before this type of regulation is put in place.The pros of social networks being regulated by the government and requiring government-issued ID is that social media companies would have better control of their platforms and social media profiles, as well as a decrease in racism, hate speech and other undesired activity.The cons of social networks being regulated by the government and requiring government-issued ID is that social media companies could become a police state, they would have access to more data than ever before and this type of regulation may stifle innovation.What do you think – should social networks require social security numbers or a government-issued ID?
As CEO of Kubbco, Chris leads the company's vision and uses his 20 years of advertising experience to drive results for our clients.
These might interest you...
