Discord cuts ties with Peter Thiel-backed verification software

Discord has ended its test partnership with Persona Identities, an identity verification vendor, after researchers found about 2,500 accessible front-end files on a U.S. government-authorized endpoint. Researchers said the files showed Persona running facial recognition checks against watchlists and 269 distinct verification checks, including screening for "adverse media" in 14 categories such as terrorism and espionage. Persona CEO Rick Song told Fortune the files were uncompressed front-end code, not a vulnerability, and denied any ties to Palantir, ICE, or the government. Both Persona and Discord said the partnership lasted less than a month and had ended before the files were found.