Identification questions and answers

This page serves as a questions and answers page related to identification to the Wikimedia Foundation.

General

What's the virtue of identification?

[currently unanswered]

What does identification currently entail?

[currently unanswered]

Which kind of documents are accepted?

[currently unanswered]

Cf. Steward handbook/email templates/identification:

“ ... This proof may be provided in one of the following manners:

1. ) Copy or scan of Driver's License.
2. ) Copy or scan of Passport.
3. ) Copy or scan of other official documentation indicating real name and age.

”

Any other information besides Photo, Name and Date of Birth can be blanked?

"[2011-02-06 00:19:02] <ChristineM> the IDs sent in, really, all we need is photo, DOB, and name. everything else can be blanked out" (Wikimedia meetings/2011-02-05). What about nationality?

What is the benefit / reason to store a copy of the document?

[currently unanswered]

Verification

Can the submitted information be verified? (Should it be?)

[currently unanswered]

How is it currently verified?

[currently unanswered]

Without hard-core verification, is there a rationale for the process?

[currently unanswered]

Recent changes

"Effective February 1, 2011, there are two substantive changes to the policies and procedures surrounding identifying to the Wikimedia Foundation. The first change is that OTRS agents will now be required to identify to the Wikimedia Foundation. The second change is that the submitted information will now be retained, when it was previously destroyed."

Who made these decisions?

[currently unanswered]

Why were these decisions made?

[currently unanswered]

Who was consulted about these decisions?

[currently unanswered]

Was potential impact to OTRS or other volunteer groups estimated before these decisions were made? (Certain volunteers have stated they will no longer volunteer in a particular capacity due to these changes.)

[currently unanswered]

Will these decisions extend beyond OTRS agents to groups not explicitly mentioned in the Access to nonpublic data policy, such as Wikimedia sysops?

[currently unanswered] (The Access to nonpublic data policy states that "access to deleted revisions on a publicly editable project, such as that held by administrators, is not sufficient to require identification under this policy.")

Will the second decision (about retaining data) extend beyond OTRS agents to other user groups mentioned in the Access to nonpublic data policy (stewards, checkusers, oversighters, certain developers)?

[currently unanswered]

As identification is primarily a legal issue, was legal counsel sought? (And if so, who was involved?)

[currently unanswered]

Data retention

What are data retention and destruction policies for the collected information?

[currently unanswered]

Does this information fall under the standard Wikimedia privacy policy? Under what circumstances can this collected information be released?

Yes, see the original policy for details.

Who has access to the submitted information (both in theory and in practice)?

[currently unanswered]

For which purposes and under which circumstances will these persons be authorized to access the submitted information (apart from the privacy policy's general principle that the information "should be used only internally to serve the well-being of the projects")?

[currently unanswered]

What kind of technical and organizational measures are in place to protect the submitted information against access by unauthorized persons?

[currently unanswered]

How will the WMF ensure non-US citizens will have the same rights regarding id data retention they have under existing national data protection acts or under relevant supranational regulations (for example EU Directive 95/46/EC)?

[currently unanswered]

Will the WMF comply to a non-disclosure provision that comes with a National Security Letter as mentioned in section 505 of the USA PATRIOT Act, should the WMF receive such a letter?

[currently unanswered]

See also

• w:Wikipedia:Identification — info page on the English Wikipedia
• wmf:Access to nonpublic data policy — official Wikimedia Foundation policy regarding identification
• wmf:Data retention policy — official Wikimedia Foundation policy "of retaining the least of amount personally identifiable information consistent with maintenance of its services, with its privacy policy, or as required by state or federal legal provisions under United States of America law."
• Identification noticeboard — list of all users who have identified to the Wikimedia Foundation