Dan Walker has had enough of troll abuse on Twitter and is now calling for the site to establish a system by which user’s identities can be confirmed.
While addressing his 676,000 followers, he tweeted: “Some of the abuse on here is truly vile. How hard would it be to implement a system where you can’t get an account without photo ID?
“Removing the cloak of anonymity would surely reduce the number of fooligans & numpties.”
While some of the BBC Breakfast star’s loyal fans wholeheartedly agreed with his sentiments – others hit back at his ideas.
Dan Walker’s Twitter followers disagreed with his proposal
One user argued: “You’re absolutely right but it’s not been helped by celebs and others using Twitter as a political weapon.”
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And another claimed: “Can’t take anyone seriously on here that hasn’t got a photo of themselves or their own name.”
However, dozens argued that Dan’s ideas are ‘dangerous’ especially with regards to the politically or socially oppressed.
One user replied: “That’s really dangerous Dan, there are very valid reasons people don’t want photo id for these things. As it could endanger their safety not to mention it could still easily be got around.”
Dan later responded to the ‘backlash’
A second user claimed: “Dissidents, whistleblowers, activists, victims of domestic abuse and all sorts also benefit from the anonymity.
“It’s looking like social media platforms will be designated publishers, then they’ll be legally responsible for stuff on here & they might finally take action against this crap.”
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And a third user chimed in with: “Agree abuse is unacceptable and needs zero tolerance, but removing anonymity could be dangerous for some.
Some of the abuse on here is truly vile. How hard would it be to implement a system where you can’t get an account without photo ID? Removing the cloak of anonymity would surely reduce the number of fooligans & numpties.
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) January 31, 2021
“If you’re secretly gay, or in an abusive relationship etc, social media might be your only escape and safe way to connect to people.”
However, Dan followed up to the apparent backlash with: “I suppose the other side to this is that there are some people, and some countries, for whom / where anonymity is essential.
“And no… I’m not suggesting that every faceless account is a troll.
“I just think that social media companies can better protect their users.”
Do you think social media companies should take more action against trolls? Let us know on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.