Twitter’s ‘blue tick’ Available To The Masses

Following the news that Twitter’s ‘blue tick’ symbol is to be made readily available to the social media site’s entire user, Chris Field, CMO at Yoti commented below. Yoti is a UK-based start-up looking to revolutionise how we prove who we are online and offline. The app uses facial recognition software to match a selfie to a picture on a passport, using the biometric passport chip for extra validation (e.g. for online networking and dating).

 Chris Field, CMO at Yoti:

“Twitter’s move to give more users its ‘Blue Verified Badge’ is a big step in the right direction when it comes to reducing abusive behaviour – people often say things they wouldn’t normally say in person because they can hide behind a mask of anonymity.

It would be good to know more about how the application process for verification will scale as those applying for a ‘Blue Verification Badge’ are asked to submit quite a lot of information just to prove who they are. Focusing in on the request for users to ‘scan and upload a copy of their government-issued ID’, I would want to know how that data is verified, processed and stored, and would also suggest that accessibility and security could be improved by implementing biometric identification processes through smartphones, in the same way that banks are doing.”