think this is an instance of the general problem where everyone wants to outsource and/or automate identity verification because it’s a cost center and they are

think this is an instance of the general problem where everyone wants to outsource and/or automate identity verification because it’s a cost center and they aren’t liable for failure. In some cases it’s simply impossible to validate your identity face to face with a competent human. This problem seems to be worst when a revenue model depends on scaling and automation. A few examples: --Your free email got hijacked, and the attacker changed all the password reset stuff to lock you out. If you followed instructions, your real answers were easily discover-able. Instead of letting you show your state ID to a human, Freemail uses your phone number as 2FA, so instead of paying for labor, it’s the phone company's problem. Also, you have basically lost all your photos and correspondence ever. --It’s where all your other password resets for other sites are sent, so instead of paying a human, it’s the email company’s problem. --Credit card companies want spam instant lines of credit through the mail without paying a human to check your ID before lending, so it’s the credit bureau’s problem. --You can’t answer the credit bureau’s identity questions, but there’s no human available, so it’s your problem. --The credit bureau leaks the data used to validate everyone’s identity, but they’re not (substantially?) liable so it’s the public’s problem. In a lot of these corner cases, there is no incentive for anyone to internalize the cost of fixing things when their own automation fails. What’s especially frustrating to me is the case where private persons are liable to prove their own innocence when a company is negligent in lending or billing. This seems like a cooperation problem that the market is no danger of fixing any time soon.