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Comment by handity | Hacker News Reader

After ten years using fastspring with no issues and decent sales volume, I received the same email. I categorically refuse to KYC by uploading a picture of my passport and allowing some algorithm to scan my face, and being asked to pay for the privilege is especially insulting. I allows my account to terminate. It remains to be seen whether they will keep my last two weeks of revenue also.

I switched to Stripe for billing, where apparently I do not need to undergo such KYC. I expect that won't last forever, and don't know how long I can go on hopping services without uploading a passport photo.

Modern KYC is an insanely invasive process carried out through insane methods, and I wish I saw it getting more pushback. Online ID verification should be done through zero knowledge proofs, if at all.

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I'm not sure why you consider it invasive to confirm your identity to a business partner.

A local bank wouldn't give you a bank account without you showing an id.

Verifying that a business partner is who they claim to be is the most basic first step in fraud prevention.

The passport uploading stuff is just an attempt to verify your identity over the web, since there is no global way to identify yourself digitally. A lot of countries have less invasive ways to confirm your identity. For example, in Austria we have digital signatures with a government app that sou can use to confirm your identity without revealing your passport. However, no global service supports it because it's a local solution.

Its not clear the point you are making here.

If you are saying "I should not undergo KYC", then I'm afraid that boat sailed a long time ago. Be realistic. It is a necessary burden for both the customer and the provider.

If you are saying "don't scan my face", then sadly you also have to be realistic because sadly $bad_guys have made "liveness" tests a necessity.

Zero knowledge proofs might (eventually) be an option for the document-upload side, but is unlikely to ever be a solution to the "liveness" side.

The point being made is that no, the boat has not sailed. It is not necessary. Your version of reality is one of submission.

You cannot comply your way out of tyranny.

Similarly, you cannot wish yourself out of reality.

I think you missed the point. There are multiple realities, and you can choose which one to inhabit.

A lot of people only see one reality, which is unfortunate.

Edit: Minds on HN even simpler than I thought. Time for bed.

I think you missed the point. There is one reality, and you can’t choose to avoid it.

A lot of people say they can pick their own reality, but really they are just spouting a mix of wishful, naive or downright silly nonsense that lacks any nuance or understanding.

> There are multiple realities, and you can choose which one to inhabit.

Meanwhile you appear to be living on a different planet altogether.

So, let's do a quick check on your "no KYC" world shall we ?

I can walk up to your bank and take all the money out of your account. You're perfectly OK with that ? Because that's what a no KYC world is.

I can open up a bunch of credit cards in your name, spend like there's no tomorrow, with zero legal repercussions, leaving you riddled with debt. You're OK with that ? Because that's what a no KYC world is.

Both. KYC, as justified by antiterrorism laws, is out of proportion for a small one-person business earning roughly a living wage.

In the eventuality that KYC could be justified, it should be in the manner of Estonia and other European countries, who have managed to implement digital signatures without the insanity of validating infinitely reproducible pictures of paper ID documents from the last century, and relying on data-hungry third parties to process biometric data through "AI" black boxes.

I'm happy to report that my last two weeks have been paid out.

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