Why Claude may want to see your government ID
What's the story
Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, is planning to introduce identity verification for its Claude users. According to an updated version of the company's privacy policy, users may be asked to upload government-issued documents for age and identity verification. The move is aimed at giving users a chance to appeal if their account is flagged for possible fraudulent activity instead of being banned outright.
Policy update
Age and identity verification
The new section of Anthropic's privacy policy, effective from July 8, states that users may be asked to prove their age or identity "in certain circumstances." However, the company hasn't specified what these scenarios would be. Earlier this year, Anthropic had introduced age-verification checks to comply with regulations in different US states and countries.
Verification procedure
User data protected under law
When triggered, Anthropic's policy would require users to upload a photo scan of a government-issued passport or driver's license. The company would also take a selfie photo or video of the person and their digitized version as a face geometry template. This data is legally protected biometric data in some US states like Illinois. Anthropic would also keep a record of the verification result, such as if the user has reached a certain age.
Policy clarification
Applies to small subset of users
Anthropic spokesperson Michael Aciman clarified that the identity verification policy applies only to a "small subset of users" whose accounts are flagged but not outright banned. The company has tens of millions of users monthly. Engineer Thariq Shihipar said that this change was made as an update to the appeals process and is not related to Fable or Mythos rollout.
Verification rationale
Reasons for requiring user IDs
Anthropic has said it can require users to upload a copy of their IDs for several reasons. These include verifying users for creating and managing their Claude account, enforcing its terms of service, preventing and investigating fraud, abuse, violations of its terms including unlawful or criminal conduct, and investigating and resolving security issues. The company is using Persona as its identity-checking provider.
Data handling
Concerns over potential misuse or theft of sensitive information
Persona, the identity-checking provider used by Anthropic, can still be compelled by US government to hand over users' information stored on its servers. The duration for which Persona retains users' identity documents is decided by Anthropic. However, the company hasn't disclosed when this data is deleted. This has raised concerns over potential misuse or theft of sensitive information in the future.