UK politician who tweeted threat to nail journalist’s balls to the floor pushes user IDs to curb online abuse

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Nadine Dorries, now UK Secretary of State, has frequently insulted other Twitter users. | Photo by Rob Pinney/Getty Images

The UK says it will force social media companies to introduce ID verification tools in order to curb online abuse as part of its upcoming Online Safety Bill.

The plans — which are not yet law — would essentially split platforms like Twitter and Facebook into segregated communities, with “verified” individuals able to opt out of all interactions with non-verified users. Critics say the policy will do little to stop online abuse, though, as many trolls are happy to harass people using their own names.

A relevant example of this dynamic has been supplied by the same Tory politician spearheading the new policies: Nadine Dorries, the UK’s Secretary of State. Dorries once threatened a journalist on Twitter that if he tried to contact her...

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