Will Identity Verification drive you off of Amazon?

[BobbyBrandt]

KDP has recently announced their intention to start requiring a photo ID as verification of an author's/publisher's true identity. While it looks like they "may" selectively target some authors initially, they claim that more and more authors will be require to verify their ID over time.

How would this impact you publishing on Amazon in the future?

 

[AG31]

KDP has recently announced their intention to start requiring a photo ID as verification of an author's/publisher's true identity. While it looks like they "may" selectively target some authors initially, they claim that more and more authors will be require to verify their ID over time.

How would this impact you publishing on Amazon in the future?

I wish they'd do something to keep the author-less AI generated garbage off the Kindle marketing page. But I don't publish on Amazon anyway because of their opaque and arbitrary rules about content.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm hidden behind my publisher at this time. However, they might at some point demand publishers to provide information about their writers or proclaim all authors are pen names of the publisher. My publisher wouldn't do that, so I'd have to provide him with whatever it is that KDP would require. At that point, or even when D2D moves my publisher (as D2D requires identities of writers already), I might just stop publishing under this pen name for sale and only publish free stuff. I'd rather keep publishing, but the fact they seem to want to know who you really are is off-putting to me.

My anonymity is important to me. I pay my taxes on every penny I earn from writing or anything else, and the government is the only one I think I need to be straight with on this.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Well, there goes that plan. I have a pseudonym for a reason...

I am a trans woman, but Shelby is a LOT more open about it that I am.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Neither Amazon nor D2D would identify you as an individual using a pen name. It is just frustrating that they feel the need to know exactly who you are when it isn't necessary. Every account has an actual name tied to it, and if it is a publisher, they are responsible for knowing who you are. I find it invasive that they want to know who I am and do not trust the publisher to do their job properly. Hell, Facebook allows scams to run on advertising with no consequences when those hurt by the scam report it. I'm anonymous for a reason. I don't tell most friends I write because they wouldn't like what I write.

So, I get exactly what you are saying.

Well, there goes that plan. I have a pseudonym for a reason...

I am a trans woman, but Shelby is a LOT more open about it that I am.

 

[Bramblethorn]

It certainly would reinforce my decision not to get on Amazon.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Anything that slows down the plagiarists is a good thing...

Cagivagurl

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Anything that slows down the plagiarists is a good thing...

Cagivagurl

So is anything that slows down people who copy your writing.

 

[Melody_Lightdraft2]

Not heard about that, hopefully not before next year as I don't have a passport nor a full driving license. Next year I will get a photo travel pass.

 

[onehitwanda]

Anything that requires KYC is a hard no for me. I frequently get comments asking why I don't publish my work for profit, or set up a patreon, etc etc...

This is one of the reasons why.

 

[StillStunned]

KYC is a fact of life nowadays. Almost any transaction you enter into requires it. I don't think the Amazon procedure is unreasonable, given their obligations to the regulatory authorities. It's all part of AML/ATF: they have to be sure who's receiving the money, or risk a huge fine.

It's not like they're going to post your photo and real name in your profile for the whole world to see.

 

[onehitwanda]

It's not like they're going to post your photo and real name in your profile for the whole world to see.

Just because they're not doing it now doesn't mean there won't be some financial incentive later for them to do so. Simply having the link established means that the data can be exposed, abused or stolen. I understand Amazon's obligation under AML rules - that doesn't mean I have to subject myself to them.

I abandoned Google when they started demanding a "real world" way to verify that I was who I'd told them I was - under the aegis of "security" but almost certainly under the actual urge to add one more set of nodes to the graph describing my advertising profile and, thus, what they could spam me with.

I will continue to publish my stories here, for free, until I either run out of stories or Lit ceases to operate. I enjoy it here, where I've somehow managed to carve out a niche of people who enjoy my work. I doubt I'd find similar popularity anywhere else.

Anonymity on the internet is dying. I will miss it.

 

[StillStunned]

Just because they're not doing it now doesn't mean there won't be some financial incentive later for them to do so. Simply having the link established means that the data can be exposed, abused or stolen. I understand Amazon's obligation under AML rules - that doesn't mean I have to subject myself to them.

"All identity documents are deleted after the ID verification process is complete." And in Europe at least the GDPR gives you the right to have your personal data removed.

I'm not trying to convince you (I don't think I'd ever publish my erotica on Amazon either, for precisely the same reason), just highlighting a detail that might make others less leery.

 

[onehitwanda]

All identity documents are deleted after the ID verification process is complete

The cynic in me interprets that as "All documents provided by the customer are deleted once we have OCR'd their contents and stored it to multiple databases." - it's the sort of weasel statement a corporation pays lawyers to come up with that is technically correct while providing complete indemnity.

"You said you'd never use my identity!"
"No,we said we'd delete the documents you provide us once they'd been used. We made no such promise about the information they contained."

Yes, I'm a cynic, but I've worked in IT for over 20 years at this point and I've seen a lot of companies elect to follow the letter of an agreement rather than the spirit of it. I trust Amazon about as far as I could throw Jeff Bezos' yacht collection.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Yes, I'm a cynic, but I've worked in IT for over 20 years

Those two things do tend to go together. The scotch helps.

 

[StillStunned]

Yes, I'm a cynic, but I've worked in IT for over 20 years at this point and I've seen a lot of companies elect to follow the letter of an agreement rather than the spirit of it. I trust Amazon about as far as I could throw Jeff Bezos' yacht collection.

I've been editing for law firms and other organisations for over 20 years, and I tend to agree. But that's why we have things like data protection.

 

[MrPixel]

Will Identity Verification drive you off of Amazon?

Too late. Amazon drove me off Amazon. Their business practices have been abysmal for a long time. Pretty good gig when you can fleece your customers, "partners", employees, and suppliers all at the same time. Bezos is the 3rd richest person in the world for a reason.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Question, what does 189.2 billion dollars look like?

Answer: This scrawny bald, white dude, dude!

Too late. Amazon drove me off Amazon. Their business practices have been abysmal for a long time. Pretty good gig when you can fleece your customers, "partners", employees, and suppliers all at the same time. Bezos is the 3rd richest person in the world for a reason.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Even if I trusted Amazon as a corporate entity, I'd also have to trust everyone on the payroll with access to the data.
I'm utterly irrelevant now, but what if I decide to run for school board in 20 years? The internet is forever...

 

[TheLobster]

Anonymity on the internet is dying. I will miss it.

The moment you start asking for real money, you are no longer just "on the internet." This was the case back in the Usenet days and it is still the case now. It arguably always will be, for as long as IRS et al. exist.

 

[alohadave]

Anonymity on the internet is a myth, always has been. Your service provider knows everything that you do online, your VPN service knows what sites your visit. Websites have your IP address. And on forums, most people talk about themselves enough that someone keeping track can track you down, as @lovecraft68 can attest.

Even on sites like 4chan where posts are supposedly anonymous gave over identifying data when subpoenaed.

 

[MillieDynamite]

There are varying degrees of anonymity online. An obsessive fan found me when I was on Facebook by a park in the background of a picture of me, taken by Jo, on the balcony of our apartment. It was an entirely unpleasant experience, which I won't go into. Needless to say, I don't post pictures online anymore. The one with my eye and my legs below are all that are left. I've considered removing both.

Anonymity on the internet is a myth, always has been. Your service provider knows everything that you do online, your VPN service knows what sites your visit. Websites have your IP address. And on forums, most people talk about themselves enough that someone keeping track can track you down, as @lovecraft68 can attest.

Even on sites like 4chan where posts are supposedly anonymous gave over identifying data when subpoenaed.