META WANTS YOUR SENSITIVE INFO (verify ID)

[VENOM-o.O]

I am posting here, before I take actions through other avenues regarding this sadly common issue. I want others to know what Meta deems as ‘acceptable’ practices in regards to the the expectation (and exploitation) of their users, before I take this information elsewhere. 

This will be long, but please bare with me-as it’s important information.

If you’re like me, and have recently gotten an email stating ‘verify your age or your account will be suspended’ this might be of interest to you.
I received this email, unprompted, for no reason. I am an adult, don’t have any child profiles/accounts on my oculus, and have been jumping through hoops to get this issue taken care of.
While following the prompts to verify my age, using the link sent in the initial email-I was given a clear cut option to add a payment method as a means to verify my age, or atleast prove I’m an adult/or parent (in the event that a childs account were to be made on my oculus). I thought this was odd, considering I have had a payment method linked to my account since I got it-None the less, I proceeded to submit my payment method, where I would be charged $1, that was to be refunded, to prove the validity of my bank account, while also proving I’m an adult.
However, each time I tried to add the payment method, a pop up would show up stating ‘payment method could not be submitted’..I went through the steps 5 TIMES, on two different devices, using two different browsers. I decided to use a different card, two different devices, two different browsers. Still wouldn’t accept it.
I am now led to believe that it is MEANT to deny the payment method, because what meta really wants-is picture ID. Preferably a drivers license (what the majority of us adults have on hand) which is extremely sensitive information to send to a gaming/social network company. I am led to the conclusion that payment methods being used to verify age, are coded to be denied-Because it’s been almost a week, talking to 7 different ‘support agents’ who have forwarded my email from one person to the next, where all agents have said the same exact thing. ‘Either submit your ID-or your account will be suspended’-not a single agent has actually tried to get my payment method to work.
They use tactics to threaten and intimidate users into submitting sensitive information and say ‘don’t worry, your information will be secure’ as if data leaks don’t happen everyday. If utilizing payment methods are an option to verify age, and a user has stated that is the option they are most comfortable with, being denied of said option over and over, without rhyme or reason, says a lot. 

The fact that users spend hundreds of dollars on their VR’s, then potentially hundreds more on games & apps, all for it to be STOLEN because meta expects their users to consent to submitting private and sensitive information, when it’s not warranted, is a serious violation of privacy, and leads me to believe they have serious flaws regarding ethics, and at the very least, unfair business practices.
If this is what they are going to demand of their users, then they need to refund every single dollar that a user has spent on the oculus in every form-Considering its meta who isn’t ensuring that their methods of verifying age ACTUALLY work. I’ve seen hundreds of people who have issue with these practices and hundreds of others who try to submit their identifying documents, but meta won’t accept them one way or another. (Other user opinions/issues can be found on various forums-google it) which have led to their accounts being unjustly suspended.

They owe their users a MASSIVE apology and need to push the killswitch on the age verification before they land themselves a massive lawsuit for suspending accounts of users who have followed age verification steps, just to be denied and have their accounts suspended anyways.
The amount of money they are actively stealing from users in this way is appalling. Support does everything BUT support. They will NOT help you.

I’ve also come to learn that this ‘verify ID’ email could be sent to anyone, more so, if a person in game decides to report your account as ‘being a child’-This will likely happen to you.

Even if you -are- okay with submitting sensitive identification to them, the process to do so isn’t working for atleast half of users. So even if you try to verify your age, the chances of your account being suspended anyways, is highly likely. (Search through meta forums for ID verification issues-which again are also noted on other platforms).

I have never been this infuriated with a company like I have meta after this. My device is essentially bricked (unless I create a new account, and spend more money on the games/apps I’ve already purchased) which is ultimately what meta seems to want. They could then repeat the same issue of age verification on a new account, and we would be back to square one. With even more hard earned money gone.
I would advise & urge anyone dealing with this to submit a complaint with the FTC and/or attorney general for unfair business practices. If you aren’t dealing with this, yet-you could be at any given time. Unless we report these things as consumers, they will never change. Providing such sensitive information to play a freaking VR is insane. It’s not the ‘norm’ and if we are complicit in such practices, it will only get worse.
If you made it this far, goodluck with your future dealing with meta-I sincerely mean that.

If I actually get a resolution to this issue, one that utilizes age verification via payment method, before my account is suspended in less than a week-I would happily update or remove this post. However, I’d be shocked if that were to happen after the abhorrent ‘support’ I’ve gotten from meta thus far.

[Coolwateree]

I’m having similar issues with my grandson’s. I’ve made screen shots of all the messages back and forth trying to get the account back or even get the headset to disassociate with the account. At this point, I’m willing to lose all the in game purchases if I can get the headset to work.  Have you seen anyone else mention a class action on this issue?  

[VENOM-o.O]

Thanks for the reply-

Upon doing some research, I’ve come across several lawsuits regarding metas shady practices, specifically regarding privacy. Currently, regarding this specific issue of verifying identity-I don’t see a lawsuit for such thing. There is a chance that one could be in the works, or that I may have missed something while searching. This definitely seems to be a frequent issue that started around the holidays late last year. So it’s relatively ‘new’ in regards to being a problem for so many. 
 Oddly enough, meta has been sued for -not- verifying that children using Instagram had parental consent to do so. This is because they felt asking children to verify their age via an ID-was unrealistic, as most children don’t have forms of ID to begin with. (You can search ‘meta coppa lawsuit’).
I doubt it’s a coincidence that so many of us are now going through these hurdles to verify we are adults. Children should be monitored and protected, yes. But when adult accounts have to verify their age out of nowhere, and meta doesn’t even allow them to effectively do so, leading to account suspension, there is a high chance that it will inevitably lead to a class action suit.

I’ll do further research, as well as report this issue anywhere I can. The more people speak up and report, the higher the chance we can get somewhere with positive change.

I will include some articles I found interesting regarding lawsuits against meta in the last few years at the bottom-feel free to check them out. 

As for your current situation with your VR-I’m really sorry you’re going through these stressors as well. Not only should accounts not be suspended to begin with, retrieving said accounts should be a reasonable task. The fact you’re willing to lose all of your purchases just to be able to use the VR is terrible. I get it, but you shouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. ‘Support’ knows that they’re screwing over so many people, they don’t care in the slightest. They’re trained to run users around in circles, til they give up. Thats the biggest takeaway I’ve gotten from the hours of research that I’ve done from countless threads on various forums. 
I truly hope you’re able to access your account sooner rather than later. Keep pushing back-Don’t give up. You could copy/paste/send the same email everyday to their ‘support team’, and have ticket after ticket created until you get somewhere.
Personally I’ll be blasting them wherever possible til I get a legitimate response. A helpful response. A response with a solution. At this point, it’s about the principle of things. There’s a reason they have an F rating with the BBB (Facebook does as well) and I plan to add to that rating myself. 
 
Here’s a couple of those articles I found. There’s lots of people who took to Reddit & other forums to address their issues with meta, their desire for class action suits, and general frustration among various topics regarding metas shady practices. Unfortunately solutions are rare-and many reply’s refer to the ToS (terms of service) ‘we all agreed to’ and how majority of concerns will fall on deaf ears because of it.
Hopefully the links work-I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t as these meta forums will edit ‘HTML’ to their liking. 

Privacy breach lawsuit-

https://www.xrtoday.com/virtual-reality/meta-settle-725-million-in-class-action-lawsuit/

Interesting article on How meta/facebook won’t take accountability & will fight the little guy -

https://abc7news.com/amp/oculus-facebook-lawsuit-vr-meta/11456038/

Meta collected data from children-(coppa lawsuit)

https://abc7chicago.com/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-coppa-meta-instagram/14107785/

[Chris.masmom]

in the past month. I have spent hours a day trying to fix this problem for my son and daughter and family.  I have uploaded my ID. I have tried to do the dollar on the credit card - I have pressed all of their links I’ve made new emails I’ve done everything and nothing works.

our account was suspended on March 1 and we will lose all of our data games on March 31.  

there is absolutely nothing that I’ve been able to do. They won’t even let me just make a new VR account and just just download the games. I’ve already purchased.

i’ve posted so many things everywhere and it appears nothing can be done.  

now in the past week someone has tried to hack into my Facebook account and I’ve gotten several notices on our Microsoft accounts that somebody has been asking for access.

they also want my son’s full name, his date of birth my daughter’s full name, her date of birth, my license, and a credit card number, or we will lose our access to VR, and all of our purchases.

the invasion of privacy or financial blackmail that this is is absolutely lunacy that it’s being allowed.

the amount of money that we are about to lose because of the games we purchased a few years ago mind you before. All of these procedures were put into place is total insanity.

had any item or purchase ever been clear you will have to upload your license and let us know your actual real name, your actual real birthdate, and the real name of your children along with your address and your drivers license, and the number- there’s no way I or anybody else would’ve purchased it.

this entire thing is so criminal. It makes me sick

[Tanaka89]

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@VENOM-o.O wrote:

I am posting here, before I take actions through other avenues regarding this sadly common issue. I want others to know what Meta deems as ‘acceptable’ practices in regards to the the expectation (and exploitation) of their users, before I take this information elsewhere. 

This will be long, but please bare with me-as it’s important information.

If you’re like me, and have recently gotten an email stating ‘verify your age or your account will be suspended’ this might be of interest to you.
I received this email, unprompted, for no reason. I am an adult, don’t have any child profiles/accounts on my oculus, and have been jumping through hoops to get this issue taken care of.
While following the prompts to verify my age, using the link sent in the initial email-I was given a clear cut option to add a payment method as a means to verify my age, or atleast prove I’m an adult/or parent (in the event that a childs account were to be made on my oculus). I thought this was odd, considering I have had a payment method linked to my account since I got it-None the less, I proceeded to submit my payment method, where I would be charged $1, that was to be refunded, to prove the validity of my bank account, while also proving I’m an adult.
However, each time I tried to add the payment method, a pop up would show up stating ‘payment method could not be submitted’..I went through the steps 5 TIMES, on two different devices, using two different browsers. I decided to use a different card, two different devices, two different browsers. Still wouldn’t accept it.
I am now led to believe that it is MEANT to deny the payment method, because what meta really wants-is picture ID. Preferably a drivers license (what the majority of us adults have on hand) which is extremely sensitive information to send to a gaming/social network company. I am led to the conclusion that payment methods being used to verify age, are coded to be denied-Because it’s been almost a week, talking to 7 different ‘support agents’ who have forwarded my email from one person to the next, where all agents have said the same exact thing. ‘Either submit your ID-or your account will be suspended’-not a single agent has actually tried to get my payment method to work.
They use tactics to threaten and intimidate users into submitting sensitive information and say ‘don’t worry, your information will be secure’ as if data leaks don’t happen everyday. If utilizing payment methods are an option to verify age, and a user has stated that is the option they are most comfortable with, being denied of said option over and over, without rhyme or reason, says a lot. 

The fact that users spend hundreds of dollars on their VR’s, then potentially hundreds more on games & apps, all for it to be STOLEN because meta expects their users to consent to submitting private and sensitive information, when it’s not warranted, is a serious violation of privacy, and leads me to believe they have serious flaws regarding ethics, and at the very least, unfair business practices.
If this is what they are going to demand of their users, then they need to refund every single dollar that a user has spent on the oculus in every form-Considering its meta who isn’t ensuring that their methods of verifying age ACTUALLY work. I’ve seen hundreds of people who have issue with these practices and hundreds of others who try to submit their identifying documents, but meta won’t accept them one way or another. (Other user opinions/issues can be found on various forums-google it) which have led to their accounts being unjustly suspended.

They owe their users a MASSIVE apology and need to push the killswitch on the age verification before they land themselves a massive lawsuit for suspending accounts of users who have followed age verification steps, just to be denied and have their accounts suspended anyways.
The amount of money they are actively stealing from users in this way is appalling. Support does everything BUT support. They will NOT help you.

I’ve also come to learn that this ‘verify ID’ email could be sent to anyone, more so, if a person in game decides to report your account as ‘being a child’-This will likely happen to you.

Even if you -are- okay with submitting sensitive identification to them, the process to do so isn’t working for atleast half of users. So even if you try to verify your age, the chances of your account being suspended anyways, is highly likely. (Search through meta forums for ID verification issues-which again are also noted on other platforms).

I have never been this infuriated with a company like I have meta after this. My device is essentially bricked (unless I create a new account, and spend more money on the games/apps I’ve already purchased) which is ultimately what meta seems to want. They could then repeat the same issue of age verification on a new account, and we would be back to square one. With even more hard earned money gone.
I would advise & urge anyone dealing with this to submit a complaint with the FTC and/or attorney general for unfair business practices. If you aren’t dealing with this, yet-you could be at any given time. Unless we report these things as consumers, they will never change. Providing such sensitive information to play a freaking VR is insane. It’s not the ‘norm’ and if we are complicit in such practices, it will only get worse.
If you made it this far, goodluck with your future dealing with meta-I sincerely mean that.

If I actually get a resolution to this issue, one that utilizes age verification via payment method, before my account is suspended in less than a week-I would happily update or remove this post. However, I’d be shocked if that were to happen after the abhorrent ‘support’ I’ve gotten from meta thus far.

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Im now tired of meta this is **bleep**

[nalex66]

The ID age check is a relatively new thing that has come about due to COPPA laws. Meta is legally obligated to ensure that children are not using adult accounts. Age verification requirements can be triggered by several factors, like reports from other players, or mismatched age information on linked accounts, whether those are from other Meta companies like Facebook or Instagram, or linked game accounts like Roblox.

Once you’ve been flagged as needing your age verified, the only way to keep your account is to provide adequate personal information to positively confirm your identity and age. I’m not sure why the credit card thing isn’t working, but it may be that it isn’t meant to be an option for age verification (it is still used for developer account verification, but I don’t think it includes any definitive age information that would satisfy COPPA).

Meta isn’t trying to steal your information or invade your privacy . Privacy laws are what is making this process necessary.

[Tanaka89]

The matter is not about stealing information but we want our accounts to function normally since we invested a lot of money in buying games 

[VENOM-o.O]

I’m not sure you read the entirety of my post or replies to it as you’ve only repeated what we already know. Your rebuttal regarding -why- doesn’t make something right. No other app/platform let alone gaming service has EVER demanded I send in my DL or passport to continue to use my account and that includes Fb, and Instagram also under the meta umbrella.
The fact that stealing information from children (and countless others) has now led to users having to jump through these hoops, and provide sensitive information is ridiculous. Especially when coppa laws do not consider these means of ‘age verification’ a requirement. Coppas rule is to essentially make sure that parental consent is given for users under 13 to utilize certain websites or online services and for parents to be informed of what information may be collected from their children. Yes it’s upto platform operators to abide by coppa rules, but meta demanding information like this actually collects more sensitive information from its users-Huh, sounds familiar. 

Using a debit card to verify one is an adult is an acceptable form of verification and the fact they have done nothing to fix the problem of that route not working is an issue. I have never once had to upload my passport/DL for anything other than governmental purposes and even then it’s extremely rare. This is NOT common practice- and meta is trying to pass it off as ‘acceptable’ and ‘not a big deal’ especially given the purpose of meta, who has the reputation that it does, this is absolutely an issue. 

The fact that accounts can be reported as being children without legitimate proof is an issue too. It’s allowed people to bully others into jumping through these bs hoops if they get upset in a game or elsewhere in the VR world & people know it. Regardless meta can ‘validate’ any account user regardless if the account was reported to being a child or not. 
Funny how you address coppa laws in your response then claim Meta isn’t trying to steal anyone’s information, when coppa laws exist (and have since 1998)- BECAUSE of companies like meta stealing information. It’s been -proven- that meta has in fact, stolen information. Like, come on now. 
It genuinely seems as if you’re standing up for Meta, which is baffling considering this is the same tech/social giant that not only stole data from children, but leaked data & information of almost 87 million people in the Cambridge Analytica scandal alone. Not to mention the data of hundreds of millions of other users throughout the world. They have paid out billions in fines throughout the years because of it.
You’re also defending the practices of Meta, the same company that filed a lawsuit against the FTC after a federal judge refused to block the commission from prohibiting the tech giant from monetizing all youth data and limiting its use of facial recognition technology (ongoing).

To claim Meta doesn’t steal or compromise personal information when they have literally been fined billions (and forced to payout) is comical and shows your clear bias. Meta absolutely has an issue with stealing/collecting (same thing) sensitive information & it’s been a serious issue several times, which was the point of my post to begin with. They are known to breach data privacy laws and as a consumer I have every right to point out transgressions in their actions as the next person-People have the right know about these things. A digital copy of my passport, and my DL information are NOT ‘necessary’ as you claim. -Especially- in regards to coppa laws who again, do not require the means of age verification that meta is utilizing. 

[VENOM-o.O]

That’s the thing-It’s absolutely about stealing information lol. Because your account won’t function as your saying -without- your sensitive information. As someone above said, it’s an invasion of privacy & financial blackmail and they’re absolutely correct. Our accounts should function correctly -especially- when people have gone through hell and back to keep them, just to end up with suspended accounts. Metas practices have raised a plethora of issues and we as consumers deserve better. 

[andurew.2024]

Hi

I am in Scotland and currently going through this living hell!  My 10-year-old son's account has been blocked and I went through the process of creating an account in my name today and tried to make the payment via my mobile, a tablet and my son's device - rejected around 15 times at the submit bank details every time, with the message you have stated.  I am now going through the hide and seek process with their customer service and it is virtually impossible to establish and maintain a suitable method of two-way communication.  As much as it hurts financially, I am bordering on telling my son to forget the whole thing.  Plus I am extremely reluctant to give my bank details to a company with such poor methods and customer service.