Identity verification is the modern version of prove you are real to use our service. The creepy part is who gets to decide what real means.

You handed over biometric data and government ID to a company that does not actually own your professional identity anymore than LinkedIn does. They just hold the keys to your digital front door now.

I keep hoping someone will build a real federated professional network where your verification travels with you. Instead we get lock-in disguised as verification. The irony is you verify yourself to prove you are human, then join a platform whose engagement algorithms treat you like a number anyway.