This petition was submitted during the 2017-2019 parliament
Rejected petition Tighten Security of Government Petitions To Prevent Use of False Identities
Government petitions are influential, but only require a name, postcode and email address. It is proven that a false name and any genuine, but randomly selected postcode will suffice. For instance Basil Brush & SW1A 1AA was accepted. This vulnerability is not in the public interest.
More details
The press simply quote numbers signing a petition. This can influence public opinion and potentially Government policy on major issues. It is open to manipulation by vested interests. This loophole needs to be closed, by, perhaps, calling for more proof of identity.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We already monitor petitions to check for fraudulent activity. We use a number of techniques, automated and manual, to identify and block signatures from bots, disposable email addresses or other sources that show signs of fraudulent activity. We also monitor signing patterns. For security reasons, we don’t tell people when their fraudulent activity has been unsuccessful.
We don’t comment in detail about the security measures, but all petitions are subject to checks as part of due diligence and any concerns investigated. We're therefore not sure exactly what further action you'd like to see.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.