I wanted the blue checkmark on LinkedIn. The one that says “this person is real.” In a sea of fake recruiters, bot accounts, and AI-generated headshots, it seemed like a smart thing to do.

So I tapped “verify.” I scanned my passport. I took a selfie. Three minutes later — done. Badge acquired. I felt a tiny dopamine hit of legitimacy.

Then I did what apparently nobody does. I went and read the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not LinkedIn’s. The other company’s.

https://thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy/

@Ivovanwilligen The only thing you didn’t mention is the owner/operator of Persona - one PETER THIEL

Wouldn't it make more sense to read those before uploading your personal documents?

@Ivovanwilligen

@Ivovanwilligen
As an individual that bails on a website that insists I don’t connect anonymously, I really have a hard time understanding the compliance here. Set up a web site if you want to establish an online presence.

@Theriac that works for you, it doesn't work for everyone. Don't be like this.

@noodlemaz
With respect, I made it work for me.

It’s clear all corporate social media see biometrics as another commodity they can sell, and they got there by people sighing and accepting them commodifying user data.

Pointing out people shouldn’t just shrug and go along with unreasonable requests, isn’t “being like that”.

@Ivovanwilligen ow no.. Ow no no no no. It's the same company as Discord and Roblox. Persona is evil.

@Ivovanwilligen @AnnaAnthro I dumped LI when Microslop bought them. Even with 6k+ connections. Haven’t missed LI for a second.

@Ivovanwilligen I'd considered doing verification there, but when I saw the requirement of the passport scan, I decided there was no way in hell I'd proceed - the possibility of identity theft with third parties processing the data just seemed too high. Your digging validates that see decision. Yikes!

@Ivovanwilligen The slow but complete erosion of privacy.

@EverydayMoggie @Ivovanwilligen why be like this? They made something useful. Who do you know who ever reads the Ts&Cs? If you do, you're in a small minority. Maybe uplift instead of coming down on people for everything.

In fact, I do read all the details before signing up for anything. Everybody should, especially now, because the stakes are a lot higher than they used to be.

@noodlemaz @Ivovanwilligen

@EverydayMoggie @noodlemaz @Ivovanwilligen
The problem is, for most people they need the service they are registering with (or at least think they do). Not signing is not an option, so what’s the point of reading the small print?
For example, I want the security updates on my iPhone. I have to click ‘accept’ to get them. The alternative is effectively to brick my phone.
It’s a scandal, and law makers the world over are not getting a grip.

@KimSJ @EverydayMoggie @noodlemaz @Ivovanwilligen Not everyone has the time to read and understand the details and implications of what's written.

Governments should hold those companies accountable and protect our privacy.

@everton137 @KimSJ @EverydayMoggie @noodlemaz @Ivovanwilligen

So you want someone else to do the work for you?

Exactly why we are in this mess to begin with.

Your protection is YOUR JOB first and foremost.

@Black_Flag

Disagree. Victims blaming is a sophisticated mechanism of moving regulatory responsibility away from centralised and well resourced organizations in the government and company and distributing it amongst the poorly resourced and fragmented general public.

This Victorian attitude is unwise and unsound.

@everton137 @KimSJ @EverydayMoggie @noodlemaz @Ivovanwilligen

@donhawkins I am happy that I did not like LinkedIn's closed nature from the start, so I have never registered, even though the elites of our university suggested that all teachers in the Open Informatics program should join their LinkedIn group. I am a long-time registered user on OpenHub and even GitHub, which has been bought by Microsoft as well. And I login (almost one year already) from my GNU/Linux system to educational sites which we build for students and local git services through Microsoft Entra ID due to decisions of our Microsoft-favoring university's central IT department. So each day there is a risk that somebody from US intelligence decides to impersonate me in study systems or grab all mine, our researchers and students data, or deny us access to our systems. Big shame to every IT person who pushes this direction at our university and elsewhere. It seems that this is not enough and Chat Control law will push us all to Peter Thiel's Palantir and Persona forcibly.