"Shortly after Discord announced that all users will soon be defaulted to teen experiences until their ages are verified, the messaging platform faced immediate backlash. One of the major complaints was that Discord planned to collect more government IDs as part of its global age verification process. It shocked many that Discord would be so bold so soon after a third-party breach of a former age check partner's services recently exposed 70,000 Discord users' government IDs."
"Attempting to reassure users, Discord claimed that most users wouldn't have to show ID, instead relying on video selfies using AI to estimate ages, which raised separate privacy concerns. In the future, perhaps behavioral signals would override the need for age checks for most users, Discord suggested, seemingly downplaying the risk that sensitive data would be improperly stored."
"Discord didn't hide that it planned to continue requesting IDs for any user appealing an incorrect age assessment, and users weren't happy, since that is exactly how the prior breach happened. Responding to critics, Discord claimed that the majority of ID data was promptly deleted. Specifically, Savannah Badalich, Discord's global head of product policy, told The Verge that IDs shared during appeals "are deleted quickly-in most cases, immediately after age confirmation.""
Discord announced users will be defaulted to teen experiences until ages are verified, prompting backlash over a global age verification that will request government IDs. A prior third-party breach exposed 70,000 users' government IDs, amplifying privacy fears. Discord said most users would instead use AI-estimated ages from video selfies and behavioral signals might reduce verification needs, but it will continue requesting IDs for users appealing incorrect age assessments. Discord asserted most ID data was promptly deleted, with Savannah Badalich saying IDs shared during appeals "are deleted quickly-in most cases, immediately after age confirmation." An FAQ about a UK Persona test, later removed, warned data could be stored up to seven days.
Read at Ars Technica
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