X’s New Identity Verification Requirement

In a move that may ruffle the feathers of some of Elon Musk’s enthusiasts within the X community, the popular platform X has announced a significant update to its creator ad revenue share program. Going forward, all participants in the revenue share initiative will be obliged to confirm their identity by submitting a government-issued ID for verification.

What the New Process Involves

Effective immediately, participants will have until July to complete X’s ID verification process, which includes taking a selfie along with providing a copy of a government ID for scrutiny. The verification will not be carried out by an automated system or X staff members; instead, it will be conducted by X’s third-party verification partner, Au10tix. This partnership has been in place since September of the previous year.

Reasons Behind the Change

While confirming government ID was not a prerequisite for X ad payouts before, recent concerns have prompted the platform to implement this new requirement. Questions have been raised about the possibility of far-right influencers, misinformation spreaders, sanctioned entities, spammers, and bots taking advantage of the system to earn ad revenue.

Reactions within the X Community

The move to introduce ID confirmation has drawn mixed reactions from X users. Some are apprehensive about losing their anonymity and providing personal data, especially given that Au10tix, the verification partner, is an Israel-based company. Despite the apprehensions, the call for some form of identity verification for payment processes is recognized as a necessity by certain X users.

Future Implications and Speculations

As X progresses towards expanding its payment services, it is expected that the need for identity verification will become more pronounced. This recent change may serve as a precursor to X’s broader ambitions of transforming into a comprehensive payment and banking platform. While the full realization of this vision may still be a fair distance away as X is in the process of securing money transmitter licenses in the United States, the requirement for ID verification is likely to become integral as X advances towards this goal.