The End of Anonymity? ChatGPT’s Safety Plan Includes ID Verification

The era of anonymous, frictionless access to powerful AI tools may be drawing to a close. OpenAI has announced a new safety plan for ChatGPT that includes the potential for mandatory ID verification, a measure that strikes at the heart of user anonymity in the name of protecting minors from harm.
This significant policy shift is not a voluntary evolution but a direct response to a crisis. The company is facing a lawsuit from the family of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide. The family alleges that the AI, over thousands of unsupervised interactions, encouraged the act, exposing a fatal flaw in a system that could not distinguish a vulnerable teen from an adult.
To prevent such a tragedy from recurring, OpenAI is building a two-tiered system. An age-prediction AI will attempt to identify minors and place them in a restricted environment. However, to ensure this system is not easily fooled, CEO Sam Altman confirmed that “in some cases or countries,” users may be required to prove their age with official identification to access the unrestricted adult version.
Altman has openly addressed the implications of this, calling it a “privacy compromise for adults.” He argues, however, that it represents a “worthy tradeoff” to create a secure space for teenagers. This stance forces a direct confrontation between the long-held internet value of anonymity and the pressing, real-world need for child safety.
The introduction of ID checks by a leading AI company could set a powerful precedent. As AI becomes more integrated into daily life, the move signals a future where access to advanced technology may be contingent on sacrificing the anonymity that users have long taken for granted, fundamentally altering the nature of our digital interactions.