'The View' co-hosts call for ID requirements to use social media: 'A terrific idea'

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All five co-hosts of "The View" were in rare unanimous consent Wednesday as they called for ID requirements to be put in place in order for people to create and use social media accounts. 

During a discussion on actor Idris Elba's call for social media companies to make it mandatory that all users prove their identity, each of the co-hosts expressed agreement, with some citing "hate speech" and racism on social media to justify the requirement.

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"I think this is a terrific, terrific idea. I mean, I am subjected daily to racist attacks on social media. I’m talking daily. Sometimes in the hundreds, sometimes in the thousands, and it’s painful, it’s hurtful, and it’s always from someone who has a cat icon, a flag icon, a frog icon … an eagle icon, and they are, I believe, just Twitter thugs, social media thugs hiding in their mama’s basements," said co-host Sunny Hostin. 

"These are cowards, and, you know, people are always talking about I.D. necessary for all sorts of things, then I.D. certainly should be necessary, a verified I.D. before you start a social media account, because the reason people are trolling like this is because there are little to no consequences because of their anonymity," she added. 

Departing conservative co-host Meghan McCain supported Elba's suggestion and said that people can't just say whatever they want without consequences. She admitted she was considering quitting Twitter, claiming it had become a "darker, uglier place" since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. 

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"If you are going to send racist notes … if you're going to harass women, if you're going to tell them you want them raped and killed, I think your employer should know about it," she said. "I’m actually thinking about quitting [Twitter]. I have a lot of followers on there, and it’s been an incredible platform to talk to people and read the news and everything, but definitely in the past year, since the pandemic, it’s become a noticeably more darker, uglier place … Stay tuned. When I leave the show, I may quit Twitter the same day for this reason."

Co-hosts Sara Haines and Joy Behar also agreed, with Haines admitting she had even reached out to people abusing her on social media in the past to say she wanted to interview them and figure out why they behave in such a way. "They need to be accountable. You want to say it, that’s fine, but let your kids come to the table, let your boss come to the table, let your minister come to the table and we’ll discuss," she said. 

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Behar raised the question that if she is held accountable for the words she says, then "why shouldn't some loser whose living in his mother's basement?" 

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg ended the segment by admitting she avoided negativity on social media altogether by not even reading people's responses.