Photo: Markus Winkler

Rights Alliance supports increased online identity verification

Sep 30, 2020 | Collaborations

30. September 2020

Identity verification on online platforms is an effective way to prevent fraud. Therefore, identity verification is an important focus area for Rights Alliance, which has just signed a letter calling for increased scrutiny at EU level.

It must be more difficult to hide behind false identities when creating a user on a trading platform or buying a domain. Criminal ringleaders often hide behind mysterious names and addresses and therefore, with false identities, are virtually impossible for authorities to track down and thus prosecute.

Therefore, it has long been a focus area for Rights Alliance that users should be able to verify themselves online, in the same way as when creating a bank account.

In Denmark, DK Hostmaster, an administrator for .dk domain names, is a good example of a company that secures itself against fraudsters through identity checks. DK Hostmaster has created an identity verification system with NemID. When buying a .dk domain, you must thus be able to verify yourself, and if you are a foreigner without a NemID, you can verify yourself with other information. Thus, DK Hostmaster takes on an active role when it comes to fighting online crime.

Action on EU-level

Although there are good initiatives for identity verification in individual national companies and organizations, action at EU level is an important step in the fight against online fraud.

Therefore, Rights Alliance has signed a letter to the European Commission calling for increased identity verification in the form of Know Your Business Customer (KYBC) rules at EU level, as part of the forthcoming Digital Service Act, which will determine how online services and platforms need to be regulated.

At present, the EU Commission has proposed that the KYBC rules should only apply to online marketplaces, such as Amazon. The letter emphasizes that this would be a missed opportunity to expand the rules’ influence on other forms of online crime, e.g. pirate and scam sites.

Therefore, the signatories appeal that the rules should also oblige hosting companies, domain registrars, advertisers, etc., to verify the identity of their customers, in order to better track down and prosecute criminal ringleaders.

In addition to Rights Alliance, the signatories of the KYBC letter include Motion Picture Association (MPA), International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), International Video Federation (IVF) and major international brands such as Nike, Heineken and Philips.

Read the letter to the EU Comission here.