It's not ideal, but phone numbers already are how we verify identity online and sometimes offline. There's been other methods proposed, but they've generally be

It's not ideal, but phone numbers already are how we verify identity online and sometimes offline. There's been other methods proposed, but they've generally been rejected because of concerns over privacy. I'm not proposing a solution for the real issue, simply a way of making things easier for people who have a hard enough time already.