Should social media users have to verify their real identity to post?
UK law does not require social media users to verify their identity to post. The Online Safety Act 2023 requires the largest platforms to offer adults optional verification and tools to filter out unverified users. Since July 2025 age checks have applied to adult content, and in 2026 the government announced an under-16 social media ban with stricter age verification, with rules expected in spring 2027. Andy Burnham became Prime Minister in July 2026, and no source shows a law ending anonymity.
5 Opinions
I'm here under my own name. Because it pressures me to say and do the right thing. Does it stop me from getting things wrong and then thinking better of it at 0435? No Does it prevent me from upsetting people? I doubt it. Does it make it likely that the Police will come to my door? Currently... definitely. The government is increasingly repressive of free expression. Some fellow citizens use those laws as a weapon when they lose an argument. But we need accountability.
We are seeing free speech being whittled away in real time. Ever-increasing ID and verification is just a means to that end. Keeping kids off unsavoury sites is parents’ responsibility, not the rest of us, and especially not when people are being jailed over tweets.
No, there have been enough data breaches and leaks as it is. We do not need constant surveillance and this would only lead to censorship anyway.
Verify only to those who run the site. Your information can and should be kept private.
ID verification, with protection on confidentiality, would significantly improve social media and add a layer of protection to children and from fraudsters.