Hacker News Reader

I sure hope things like this don't catch on.

The last thing on earth I want is to have to provide full identity information to every last website on which I need to use an account.

View on HN

This is not really the point. This is to be used where its necessary to know who the user is, for example when opening a bank account or checking in with an airline

Yeah, it's sad that it caught on for those things, too. I hope it becomes harder to do those things as a result, not easier, so that the day it goes away comes about sooner.

KYC (know your customer) is a legal requirement in many countries if you are dealing in services that might allow your users to launder money, so I don’t see how it harder for users benefit anyone.

At one point it wasn't a legal requirement, and then it became one, just like air transport.

Financial privacy could be restored, given sufficient will to do so. Making ubiquitous identity-linked financial surveillance easier and more convenient does not advance this goal.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com