Discord’s rocky rollout of its global age verification policy has taken another controversial turn. Following a week of intense backlash over announced content restrictions and ID scanning requirements, the platform has now sparked privacy concerns regarding a new verification vendor with financial ties to Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Palantir.
The “Experiment” in the UK
The controversy began last week when Discord announced global age verification restrictions set to take effect in March. The policy requires users to scan their faces or government IDs—or rely on “unspecified prediction algorithms”—to access certain communities and content.
While Discord attempted to pacify the outcry by clarifying that only some users would be subject to these checks, the implementation has raised new alarms in the United Kingdom. Reports have surfaced from UK users—who are already subject to age verification under the country’s 2025 Online Safety Act—being presented with prompts to consent to verification processed by a company called Persona.
Discord’s support documentation has been updated to reflect this, featuring a disclaimer for UK users stating they “may be part of an experiment where your information will be processed by an age-assurance vendor, Persona.”
Privacy Policy Shifts
The involvement of Persona marks a significant shift in data handling. Previously, Discord insisted that facial age verification recordings would be stored and processed locally on user devices. However, the new notice regarding Persona explicitly states that “the information you submit will be temporarily stored for up to 7 days, then deleted.”
This discrepancy has fueled speculation that Discord is testing alternatives to its primary partner, k-ID, which some users suggest has been susceptible to workarounds. Discord has not officially specified why certain users are being funneled toward Persona.
The Thiel Connection
The primary driver of the renewed privacy anxiety is Persona’s financial backing. In its two most recent rounds of venture capital funding, the lead investor was Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded and directed by Peter Thiel.
Thiel, a co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, is a polarizing figure in the tech world, primarily known for co-founding Palantir. Palantir is a data analytics firm frequently criticized by privacy advocates for its work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), providing digital surveillance tools used in deportation efforts.
Critics point out the irony—and danger—of a company named after a Tolkien artifact used by evil forces to spy on thoughts being linked, even indirectly, to a social platform’s user verification system.
Beyond his surveillance tech portfolio, Thiel’s reputation creates further friction for Discord’s user base. He famously wrote in 2009 that he “no longer believe[s] that freedom and democracy are compatible,” and his name appeared over 2,200 times in the recently released files regarding convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, detailing years of coordinated meetings.
Growing Backlash
Discord continues to downplay the significance of the new rules, framing them as necessary compliance measures. However, privacy advocates remain unconvinced. Rindala Alajaji of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has argued that the user outcry is warranted, citing the myriad privacy risks associated with mandatory ID and biometric scanning.
For many users, the introduction of a vendor linked to the architect of the “digital panopticon” has only validated their fears, with some communities already discussing a migration back to older protocols like IRC.
Source: PC Gamer
