EastEnders star Rob Kazinsky has spoken of how online groomers used to impersonate him to speak to children, as he attacked Elon Musk's plans for people to pay for Twitter blue ticks.
Rob, who has played Walford trouble maker Sean Slater on and off since 2006, said he felt "powerless" to stop people using his name and face, and verification is needed to protect children and the vulnerable.
It comes as billionaire Musk, Twitter's new owner, said that people will pay £7 a month for a verified blue tick tick, after the Tesla founder originally putt the price at £17.
Rob, who has also appeared in Hollywood movies such as The Gray Man, took to Twitter to share why he believes verified accounts on Twitter are important.
In a long thread, he began: "Years ago, before verified accounts were a thing, back when I was on Eastenders, I was contacted multiple times by parents of children who had been “conversing” with me online. 11-15 year old children that had been talking with a fake me.
"I was informed one of these children went missing. I didn’t have social media at the time, I didn’t understand it."
The actor continued: "It’s a horror show, for years people pushed for some way, to root out the fakes.
"There was a phase, if you remember, of people posting images of themselves with their URL. I did that on every site I could find, Facebook, myspace, Bebo, anything."
Rob said he felt "powerless to stop people using my name and face to scam or groom people.
"That’s why verification came to be. Because it was important to protect people," he went on.
"It wasn’t for clout, or for leveraging money from a platform. It was to protect people from utter scumbags."
The True Blood star said he thinks there are perhaps some CEOs who have forgotten the importance of protecting people and having trustworthy sources.
Rob explained that he doesn't tweet much, that he is "scared" of the internet and struggles "with a lot of things in life."
"But this account exists so that fake accounts can’t. If @elonmusk removes that simple ability to protect people, to protect children with verification then this company is dead in the water," he continued.
The soap star went on: "I don’t know if it’s been expressed to him, I doubt he will see this thread.
"But I hope someone is explaining to @elonmusk the actual dangers to children and the vulnerable and why removing that protection, is an action that will lead directly to a child being endangered."
Concluding his threat, Rob said verification is a public service, "performed by companies who contribute very little good to the world in my opinion."
"We should be making easier clearer paths to verification for everyone, not making it harder. It is their responsibility, not a business model."
