Identity & Anonymity

Why be anonymous? (or pseudonymous)?

  • Avoid repercussions or reprisals tied to your real identity

    • Defying the law (e.g. avoiding censorship)

    • Unpopular Speech

    • Aberration: Unwelcomed social norms change

  • Separation of roles (private, professional, etc...)

  • General privacy protection (digital uranium)

    • Misuse of information (e.g. spam)

  • Creation of multiple identities

    • Unique personalities

    • Different reputations

  • Freedom:

    • Choose/control your image, build social status or reputation

    • Social constraints / expectations

    • Expression: speak your mind

    • Discrimination

    • Accountability: troll, discriminate

    • Disappear: “Be forgotten”

    • Association

  • Prejudice based on reputation

    • J.K. Rowling’s new book

  • Authors (Georges Sand, J.K. Rowling, Richard Bachman, Banksy, Satoshi)

Anonymity in which context?

  • Posting, discussion

    • In public versus private/group forums

    • History: USENET anonymous remailers

    • Political/Social Activism

    • Whistleblowing

    • News/media commenting

  • Research

    • Data anonymization

    • Medical Systems

  • Deliberation

    • Voting

    • Exams

    • Peer Reviews

  • Reviews

    • Restaurants

    • Products

  • Freedom/empowerment versus civility, accountability, quality, truth

Dark Side of Anonymity:

  • Discussions:

    • Be more candid, forget that other is a person + escalation

    • Discrimination: online attacks without recourse, accountability

    • Reckless decisions: inflammatory email

    • Lose discussion coherence - can’t reply, followup

  • Organized mass attacks / Mass gossip

    • Anonymous Sybil: force to bias opinion, discussion

      • UseNet, online polls, Wikipedia

    • Attacks on privacy, anonymity

Mitigate, “balance” anonymity vs. identity / accountability:

  • Education

    • How to behave, how to distance, keep cool, not escalate

    • Understand sensitivities, respecting privacy

  • Technology

    • One to one mapping pseudonym (advantages)

      • Counters Sybil attacks

      • Makes pseudonyms non-discardable: creates scarcity

      • Deanonymization on legal requirement?

    • One to one mapping pseudonym (challenges)

      • IP address, geolocation

      • Biometrics: privacy, false positives/negatives, invasive

      • Phone number (insecure SS7, burner phones)

      • Identity theft

    • Proof of work (payment)

      • Signup fee



Post-lecture blackboard snapshot 2019:



Last modified: Thursday, 2 December 2021, 16:41