On: Terrorists Mock Bids to End Use of Social Media

[RegW]

There can always be some checking that happens as part of creating a new account.

Remember that to be effective, the follower needs to be able to find the new account when the old one is closed. They will do this by searching for an obvious keyword (in this case TurMedia or IslamicState), so checking the username against a block list of known terms previously used by terrorists should catch it.

For example, FB has a real names policy - try opening a FB account with a stupid name and see what happens - its not that hard.

[pjc50 → RegW]

FB has a "real looking names" policy, which has little to do with the names on people's government ID unless they get reported.

(And of course, the more lawless the area, the less likely someone is to even have an official identity)

[jessaustin → RegW]

A "real names policy" is not appropriate to every situation, since it is inherently hostile to users. Some have even criticized its use at FB.

[RegW → jessaustin]

I agree, but the point I was trying to make (perhaps unclearly), was that the username can be checked against a list of blocked patterns at account creation time.

[shadowfox → jessaustin]

While quite true, that is a "business and policy decision" for the most part.