Editing Anonymity (section)

==Anonymity on the Internet== <!-- [[Anonymity on the Internet]] redirects here -->
{{further|Anonymous post|Internet privacy}}
Most commentary on the Internet is essentially done anonymously, using unidentifiable pseudonyms. However, this has been widely discredited in a study by the University of Birmingham, which found that the number of people who use the internet anonymously is statistically the same as the number of people who use the internet to interact with friends or known contacts. While these usernames can take on an identity of their own, they are sometimes separated and anonymous from the actual author. According to the University of Stockholm this is creating more freedom of expression, and less accountability.<ref>Jacob Palme and Mikael Berglund, [http://people.dsv.su.se/~jpalme/society/anonymity.html "Anonymity on the Internet"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221051847/http://people.dsv.su.se/~jpalme/society/anonymity.html |date=2008-02-21 }}, Jacob Palme's Home Page</ref> [[Wikipedia]] is collaboratively written mostly by authors using either unidentifiable pseudonyms or [[IP address]] identifiers, although many Wikipedia editors use their real names instead of pseudonyms.

However, the Internet was not designed for anonymity: [[IP addresses]] serve as virtual mailing addresses, which means that any time any resource on the Internet is accessed, it is accessed from a particular IP address, and the data traffic patterns to and from IP addresses can be intercepted, monitored, and analysed, even if the content of that traffic is encrypted. This address can be mapped to a particular [[Internet Service Provider]] (ISP), and this ISP can then provide information about what customer that IP address was leased to. This does not necessarily implicate a specific individual (because other people could be using that customer's connection, especially if the customer is a public resource, such as a library), but it provides regional information and serves as powerful [[circumstantial evidence]].{{fact|date=February 2022}}

Anonymizing services such as [[I2P]] and [[Tor (network)|Tor]] address the issue of IP tracking. In short, they work by encrypting packets within multiple layers of encryption. The packet follows a predetermined route through the anonymizing network. Each router sees the immediate previous router as the origin and the immediate next router as the destination. Thus, no router ever knows both the true origin and destination of the packet. This makes these services more secure than centralized anonymizing services (where a central point of knowledge exists).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ohm|first=Paul|title=Broken Promises of Privacy: Responding to the Surprising Failure of Anonymization|journal=UCLA Law Review|date=13 August 2009|volume=57|pages=1701, 2010|ssrn=1450006}}</ref>

Sites such as [[Chatroulette]], [[Omegle]], and [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]] (which pair up random users for a conversation) capitalized on a fascination with anonymity. Apps like [[Yik Yak]], [[Secret (app)|Secret]] and [[Whisper (app)|Whisper]] let people share things anonymously or quasi-anonymously whereas [[Random (application)|Random]] let the user to explore the web anonymously. Some email providers, like [[Tuta (email)|Tuta]] also offer the ability to create anonymous email accounts which do not require any personal information from the account holder.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tuta.com/blog/anonymous-email|title=Anonymous email|access-date=22 July 2024}}</ref> Other sites, however, including [[Facebook]] and [[Google+]], ask users to sign in with their legal names. In the case of Google+, this requirement led to a controversy known as the [[nymwars]].<ref>Tynan, Dan. "[http://www.itworld.com/security/373319/real-names-real-problems-pseudonymity-under-siege Real names, real problems: Pseudonymity under siege] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920011728/http://www.itworld.com/security/373319/real-names-real-problems-pseudonymity-under-siege |date=2013-09-20 }}." ''[[ITWorld]]''. September 17, 2013. Retrieved on September 22, 2013.</ref> 

The prevalence of [[cyberbullying]] is often attributed to relative Internet anonymity, due to the fact that potential offenders are able to mask their identities and prevent themselves from being caught. A principal in a high school stated that comments made on these anonymous sites are "especially vicious and hurtful since there is no way to trace their source and it can be disseminated widely.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csoonline.com/article/2134508/mobile-security/teen-cyberbullying-grows-with--anonymous--social-chat-apps.html|title=Teen cyberbullying grows with "anonymous" social chat apps|first=Taylor|last=Armerding|access-date=13 June 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093612/http://www.csoonline.com/article/2134508/mobile-security/teen-cyberbullying-grows-with--anonymous--social-chat-apps.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|date=2014-03-24}}</ref> "Cyberbullying, as opposed to general bullying, is still a widely-debated area of [[Internet censorship|Internet freedom]] in several states.<ref>{{cite journal|last=King|first=Alison|title=Constitutionality of Cyberbullying Laws: Keeping the Online Playground Safe for Both Teens and Free Speech|journal=Vanderbilt Law Review|date=April 2010|volume=63|issue=3|pages=845–884|url=http://www.vanderbiltlawreview.org/2010/04/constitutionality-of-cyberbullying-laws-keeping-the-online-playground-safe-for-both-teens-and-free-speech/|access-date=11 February 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628092825/http://www.vanderbiltlawreview.org/2010/04/constitutionality-of-cyberbullying-laws-keeping-the-online-playground-safe-for-both-teens-and-free-speech/|archive-date=28 June 2013}}</ref>

Though Internet anonymity can provide a harmful environment through which people can hurt others, anonymity can allow for a much safer and relaxed internet experience. In a study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University, 15 out of 44 participants stated that they choose to be anonymous online because of a prior negative experience during which they did not maintain an anonymous presence.<ref name=":0">Kang et al. (2013). Why Do People Seek Anonymity on the Internet? Informing Policy and Design. CHI 2013.</ref> Such experiences include stalking, releasing private information by an opposing school political group, or tricking an individual into traveling to another country for a job that did not exist. Participants in this study stated that they were able to avoid their previous problems by using false identification online.{{fact|date=February 2022}}

[[David Chaum]] is called the Godfathers of anonymity and he has a claim to be one of the great visionaries of contemporary science. In the early 1980s, while a computer scientist at Berkeley, Chaum predicted the world in which computer networks would make mass surveillance a possibility. As Dr. Joss Wright explains: "David Chaum was very ahead of his time. He predicted in the early 1980s concerns that would arise on the internet 15 or 20 years later."<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29032399 |title = Horizon: The defenders of anonymity on the internet|url-status = live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150214132817/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29032399 |archive-date= 2015-02-14 |first =Mike |last =Radford|work = BBC News|date = 3 September 2014}}</ref> There are some people though that consider anonymity in the Internet as a danger for our society as a whole. David Davenport, an assistant professor in the Computer Engineering Department of Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, considers that by allowing anonymous Net communication, the fabric of our society is at risk.<ref>[http://www.csl.mtu.edu/cs6461/www/Reading/Davenport02.pdf Anonymity on the Internet: Why the Price May Be Too High] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319005249/http://www.csl.mtu.edu/cs6461/www/Reading/Davenport02.pdf |date=2015-03-19 }}, by David Davenport, COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM April 2002/Vol. 45, No. 4</ref> "Accountability requires those responsible for any misconduct be identified and brought to justice. However, if people remain anonymous, by definition, they cannot be identified, making it impossible to hold them accountable." he says.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davenport |first=David |date=April 2002 |title=Anonymity on the Internet: Why the Price May Be Too High |url=https://www.csl.mtu.edu/cs6461/www/Reading/Davenport02.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110213621/https://www.csl.mtu.edu/cs6461/www/Reading/Davenport02.pdf |archive-date=10 January 2024 |access-date=10 January 2024 |website=Michigan Technological University}}</ref>

=== Arguments for and against anonymity ===
As [[A. Michael Froomkin]] says: "The regulation of anonymous and pseudonymous communications promises to be one of the most important and contentious Internet-related issues of the next decade".<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/019722499128574|title = Legal Issues in Anonymity and Pseudonymity| journal=The Information Society| volume=15| issue=2| pages=113–127|year = 1999|last1 = Froomkin|first1 = A. Michael |author1-link=Michael Froomkin |s2cid = 205509626}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| doi=10.1016/S0167-739X(99)00062-X | volume=16 | issue=4 | title=Privacy protection and anonymity services for the World Wide Web (WWW) | year=2000 | journal=Future Generation Computer Systems | pages=379–391 | last1 = Oppliger | first1 = Rolf}}</ref> Anonymity and pseudonymity can be used for good and bad purposes. And anonymity can in many cases be desirable for one person and not desirable for another person. A company may, for example, not like an employee to divulge information about improper practices within the company, but society as a whole may find it important that such improper practices are publicly exposed.
Good purposes of anonymity and pseudonymity:{{fact|date=February 2022}}
* People dependent on an organization, or afraid of revenge, may divulge serious misuse, which should be revealed. Anonymous tips can be used as an information source by newspapers, as well as by police departments, soliciting tips aimed at catching criminals. Not everyone will regard such anonymous communication as good. For example, message boards established outside companies, but for employees of such companies to vent their opinions on their employer, have sometimes been used in ways that at least the companies themselves were not happy about [Abelson 2001].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/29/technology/29HARA.html?searchpv=site14 By the Water Cooler in Cyberspace, the Talk Turns Ugly] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704182846/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/29/technology/29HARA.html?searchpv=site14 |date=2016-07-04 }}, by Reed Abelson, New York Times, 29 April 2001</ref> Police use of anonymity is a complex issue, since the police often will want to know the identity of the tipper in order to get more information, evaluate the reliability or get the tipper as a witness. Is it ethical for police to identify the tipper if it has opened up an anonymous tipping hotline?
* People in a country with a repressive political regime may use anonymity (for example Internet-based anonymity servers in other countries) to avoid persecution for their political opinions. Note that even in democratic countries, some people claim, rightly or wrongly, that certain political opinions are persecuted. [Wallace 1999]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp54.pdf|title=Nameless in Cyberspace, anonymity on the Internet|author1-first=Jonathan D.|author1-last=Wallace|publisher=[[CATO Institute]]|date=December 8, 1999|website=cato.org|access-date=2 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227080944/http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp54.pdf|archive-date=27 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-054es.html|title=Nameless in Cyberspace: Anonymity on the Internet|access-date=13 June 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501020933/http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-054es.html|archive-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> gives an overview of uses of anonymity to protect political speech. Every country has a limit on which political opinions are allowed, and there are always people who want to express forbidden opinions, like racial agitation in most democratic countries.
* People may openly discuss personal stuff which would be embarrassing to tell many people about, such as sexual problems. Research shows that anonymous participants disclose significantly more information about themselves [Joinson 2001].<ref>Joinson, A. N. (2001). [http://iet.open.ac.uk/pp/a.n.joinson/papers/self-disclosure.PDF Self-disclosure in computer-mediated communication: The role of self-awareness and visual anonymity] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221142850/http://iet.open.ac.uk/pp/a.n.joinson/papers/self-disclosure.PDF |date=2007-02-21 }}. European Journal of Social Psychology, ''31''(2), 177-192.</ref> People might also feel more open to sharing their personal work anonymously if they feel that their friends and family would harass them or disapprove of their work. Examples of such work could include [[fan fiction]] or vocal performances.<ref name=":0" />
* People may get more objective evaluation of their messages, by not showing their real name.
* People are more equal in anonymous discussions, factors like status, gender, etc., will not influence the evaluation of what they say.
* Pseudonymity can be used to experiment with role playing, for example a man posing as a woman in order to understand the feelings of people of different gender.
* Pseudonymity can be a tool for timid people to dare establish contacts which can be of value for them and others, e.g. through contact advertisements.
* People can contribute to online social discussion with reduced risk of harm by online predators. Online predators include "criminals, hackers, scammers, stalkers, and malicious online vendors".<ref name=":0" />
* People can avoid becoming famous by [[Anonymous work|publishing their work anonymously]].

There has always, however, also been a negative side of anonymity:
* Anonymity can be used to protect a criminal performing many different crimes, for example slander, distribution of child pornography, illegal threats, racial agitation, fraud, intentional damage such as distribution of computer viruses, etc. The exact set of illegal acts varies from country to country, but most countries have many laws forbidding certain "informational" acts, everything from high treason to instigation of rebellion, etc., to swindling.{{fact|date=February 2022}}
* Anonymity can be used for online payments for criminals paying others to perform illegal acts or purchases.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Froomkin |first=A. Michael |author-link=Michael Froomkin |title=Anonymity and its Enmities |date=1995 |volume=1 |journal=Journal of Online Law |at=art. 4 |ssrn=2715621 }}</ref>
* Anonymity can be used to seek contacts for performing illegal acts, like a [[Child grooming]] searching for children to abuse or a swindler searching for people to rip off.{{fact|date=February 2022}}
* Even when the act is not illegal, anonymity can be used for offensive or disruptive communication. For example, some people use anonymity in order to say harmful things about other people, known as [[cyberbullying]].
* [[Internet troll]]s use anonymity to harm discussions in online social platforms.{{fact|date=February 2022}}

The border between illegal and legal but offensive use is not very sharp, and varies depending on the law in each country.<ref>[http://people.dsv.su.se/~jpalme/society/anonymity.html#fn1 Anonymity on the Internet] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221051847/http://people.dsv.su.se/~jpalme/society/anonymity.html |date=2008-02-21 }}, by Jacob Palme, using much material from the paper "Usenet news and anon.penet.fi" by Mikael Berglund</ref>

=== Anonymous (group) ===
[[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] (used as a mass noun) is a loosely associated international network of activist and [[hacktivist]] entities. A website nominally associated with the group describes it as "an internet gathering" with "a very loose and decentralized command structure that operates on ideas rather than directives".<ref>Kelly, Brian (2012). "Investing in a Centralized Cybersecurity Infrastructure: Why "Hacktivism" can and should influence cybersecurity reform". Boston University Law Review 92 (5): 1663–1710. Retrieved May 2, 2013.</ref> The group became known for a series of well-publicized publicity stunts and distributed [[Denial-of-service attack|denial-of-service (DDoS)]] attacks on government, religious, and corporate websites. An image commonly associated with Anonymous is the "man without a head" represents leaderless organization and anonymity.<ref>[http://vimeo.com/19806469 "Gabriella Coleman on Anonymous"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128140421/http://vimeo.com/19806469 |date=2012-01-28 }}. Brian Lehrer Live. Vimeo. February 9, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.</ref>