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Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

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Re: Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

#61
post #26

Yes. Ultimately the internet is a lawless extremely low trust place, because it isn't limited by borders, so there is no effective law enforcement over a significant fraction of the people on it. Hosting providers bear a fair bit of the brunt of this because they're a staging ground for doing actually evil things. I want to work with high trust places. I don't want an IP address that was just being used to hack peopl…

> I want to work with high trust places.

OK, so get off the Internet. Don't fuck it up for the rest of us.

Re: Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

#62
Well, for me being in UE with eIDAS docs I have just a response: implement eIDAS and I'll give you a certified ID out of my public docs, nothing else. If you want a proof of my identity you'll get the best proof. Otherwise you just want to scam me or you live in another world.

eIDAS could be simply described as "a smart-card in any documents" (so far some UE state have started with identity cards, some with drive permit as well, nothing different than classic/modern e-passports) you can use with a reader and a PIN to identify yourself. The main usage so far is almost only for public administration services but some example of private use are discussed and used ante-litteram for instance as a proof of majority for buying cigarettes on vending machines, some discuss the option of a public SSO identifying a citizen who allow send SOME (detailed in the redirect page) to a private party. Nothing exists AFAIK outside the public but it start to spread. The public became the guarantor of the citizen's identity.

Outside EU various countries have some form of e-IDs so... It's just about time to steamline them ALSO for contract signing instead of absurd SMS-based signature on third parties.

Re: Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

#63
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we should insist that KYC be solely performed by banks That sounds like a great way of preventing anyone who doesn’t have a bank account from being able to use services at all. There are ~1.7 Billion people in the world that are unbanked. Even in the US alone there are around 55 million unbanked adults. (2018 numbers) I think we should push for the opposite. Less KYC all around.

I don't think KYC laws keep people un-banked. According to the Federal Reserve only about 5% of adult Americans don't have a bank account. KYC is relatively easy to comply with, about the same as getting a library card. But if a person has a history of writing bad checks or running up overdrafts they can't get a bank account. And some percentage of Americans don't trust banks and remain un-banked by choice. Source fo…

> I don't think KYC laws keep people un-banked.

That’s not what I’m saying.

What I mean is, if only banks do KYC then all payments will be required to go through banks.

That will be a disaster for the unbanked.

And instead of pushing for KYC being performed by banks only, we should push for less KYC in the first place.

Re: Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

#64
post #2

AFAIK there's a new law requiring KYC for IaaS providers serving the US. I'm assuming it covers their butts as well regarding malicious activity, they don't want to host a DoS attack, CP site, or similar. You might be hard pressed to find a hosting provider in the US that doesn't ask for these things.

This is probably what you're thinking of [0]. The comments period is closed, but as far as I know it hasn't actually become a rule yet, and regardless: * The rule would only apply to people living outside the US, so if you pay with a credit card with a billing address in the US from an IP in the US they probably wouldn't need to KYC you. * KYC != "send me a photo of you holding your driver's license". I can open a ba…

That is what I'm thinking of, thanks for the context

Re: Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

#66
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you similarly for KYC rules when it comes to people making DMCA and other legal claims? It seems like KYC is always applied in situations that hurt the individual person and protect the incorporated person. Never the other way.

I'm not sure what you mean. The DMCA is big piece of crap, but it does have penalties if someone files a DMCA claim regarding content they know isn't theirs to manage. Alas, it does not extent to penalizing the (duly-authorized) filers who make claims they know are frivolous bullshit, but that's a 'nother can of worms.

Have those penalties ever been widely implemented? My understanding is most wrong claims just result in the person making the claim say "whoops sorry my bad" and nothing happens.

Re: Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

#67
Original poster here. I heard back from OVH that this was their automatic fraud detection system kicking in, and after manual review they removed this requirement. Apparently I made a mistake entering my CC info. Doh...

Now I feel like I jumped the gun posting, but I also feel relieved. In any case, thanks for all the support.

Re: Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

#68
post #5

KYC is already required at banks and they have the most complete - and global - view of all transaction flows . Therefore we should insist that KYC be solely performed by banks - no other firms should be required to perform it. Given the extraordinary privileges that banks enjoy, this would be a reasonable contribution to society - especially given that they are doing it anyway .

Is this sarcasm? Most banks don't write software, and the third-party software isn't that great. I don't want my bank involved in this at all.

I think my point was unclear ...

What I am saying is, there is no reason for other firms to perform KYC because it is totally redundant. The banks already have to do it and they have a better view of the transaction flow anyway.

Any KYC that your ISP might do would be both redundant and inferior to what your bank is already doing.

It is a waste of resources - and a drag on smaller businesses - to do this work twice.

Re: Ask HN: Would you send a photo holding your drivers license to rent a VPS?

#69
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you similarly for KYC rules when it comes to people making DMCA and other legal claims? It seems like KYC is always applied in situations that hurt the individual person and protect the incorporated person. Never the other way.

I'm not sure what you mean. The DMCA is big piece of crap, but it does have penalties if someone files a DMCA claim regarding content they know isn't theirs to manage. Alas, it does not extent to penalizing the (duly-authorized) filers who make claims they know are frivolous bullshit, but that's a 'nother can of worms.

One of the biggest problems with the DMCA is that it is unaccountable for those submitting legal claims anonymously. They should have to identify themselves to submit a legal claim of ownership.

> https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/02/17/the-invisible-campaign-t... To remove something from google's search they copy the text, they create a fake website / company with a URL with copied text then submit a DMCA claim saying theirs is the original. Google automatically rubberstamp approves it and the URL/text they want removed from the search index is removed.

There's a simple and easy solution: there should be "know your customer" for claimaints for laws requiring companies to follow up on legal claims like DMCA reports. KYC is obviously socially accepted and easily implemented since it's being required for so many other things. The whole basis of an adversarial legal system is that you need two legal persons on either side. This is a context in which you have to wonder why it isn't already like that.

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