Twitter Looks to Expand Blue Tick Verification to More Users

Twitter will soon open the blue tick verification process for all users on the platform who can prove their identity. The micro-blogging site is working on a new process to verify people's identity and, thus, ensure credibility. Despite its original function of authenticating accounts, the much-coveted blue check mark has grown to become a status symbol. New applications for the blue tick were suspended late last year.

CNET reports that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in a live stream, "We want to be one of the most trusted services in the world and we know we have a lot of work to get there." However, Dorsey did not elaborate on whether this process requires users to submit a Facebook profile, phone number, email address or a government-issued photo ID.

Introduced in 2009, initially, the blue check mark distinction was bestowed primarily on celebrities, athletes and public figures to check impersonators. The badge was later rolled out to journalists and other users. To obtain a verified check mark, users have to apply with a reason for why they need one.

However, blue tick verifications were stopped for all new applicants in November last year, with the company saying the tick mark was being used as an endorsement instead of a sign of authenticity of identity. The move had come after people criticised Twitter for verifying the account belonging to the organiser of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one dead in August.