Anthropic is updating Claude's privacy policy to require age and identity verification for all users starting July 8, 2026—users may need to submit government ID and a live selfie through a third-party service called Persona Identities. This affects free and paid users alike, marking a significant tightening of identity controls on LLMs compared to the light-touch approach that defined early AI adoption. The clown emoji signals the author's skepticism about privacy implications, though the underlying facts are well-confirmed by multiple tech news outlets. The post doesn't explain why Anthropic is making this change—likely regulatory pressure around child safety and fraud prevention—which would help readers understand the broader context.