Please send your ID to use Windows

Comparison of failed Scum game ID verification policy to hypothetical future mandatory ID requirements for operating systems

This meme is a multi-part collage. The first section of text explains that in the late 2010s, the Chinese video game Scum introduced mandatory ID verification to combat rampant cheating, but the policy backfired: cheaters used stolen identities to bypass checks, the game lost popularity, and criminals made large profits selling stolen IDs to cheaters. A screenshot of in-game footage from Scum follows this text. The next text block sets up a hypothetical 2026 scenario where governments require users to submit ID to access Windows and Linux operating systems. Two reaction images follow: the left is a still of the character Dexter Morgan from the TV series Dexter, labeled 'My Grandma ID', implying ordinary users will easily bypass the rule by using a family member's ID. The right is a still of Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, labeled 'Criminals', showing him smugly pointing to his eyes to imply that criminals will heavily profit from selling stolen IDs just as they did for the Scum game, mocking the ineffectiveness and unintended negative consequences of mandatory ID verification policies for digital services.

This meme was originally posted to the r/meme subreddit on Reddit, under the title 'Please send your ID to use Windows'. It draws parallels between the failed ID verification policy of the game Scum and growing conversations about mandatory government ID requirements for accessing digital services, to satirize these proposed policies.