Anonymity In Internet Essay

Technology - Policies and Practices of Anonymity in the Internet

Abstract: This paper discusses the importance of anonymous Internet access and how the benefits of such access outweigh the disadvantages. Also discussed is the violation of anonymous access in some cases and the steps that can be taken to preserve anonymity. Most importantly, what specifically are the rights of Internet users and what guidelines should govern widespread Internet policy of anonymity?

The rapid growth of the Internet’s popularity is staggering: in 1990 few people outside the research community knew of it, and today it is estimated that there are more than 300 million Internet users worldwide [1]. It is unlikely that any previous notable form of

No programming ability is required when programs such as Microsoft FrontPage® and Adobe GoLive® can help create webpages using a simple word-processor-like interface. Formerly, one had to be an established, professional journalist, author or artist to have relatively any chance to publicly express one’s views, opinions and/or creativity. With the advent of the Internet, anyone with access to a computer can say or do anything and do it anonymously. This type of literary anonymity is not unprecedented; authors have used pen names4 for centuries. However, the Internet allows it on an unprecedented

Of course, a simple way to remove the aforementioned downsides would be to remove anonymity from the Internet entirely. One could ban all remailers, anonymous email accounts and anonymous websites, as well as mandate that ISPs force their clients to use established identities. While this would help prevent illicit activities on the Internet, it would seriously undermine many of the beneficial traits of the Internet, and many would argue that it greatly restricts free speech. At the least, this would radically increase the amount of SPAM7 and targeted advertisements on the Internet, of which few Internet users would approve. It would not be too difficult to draw a parallel between this solution to the problem forcing voters to record their names alongside the candidates they voted for. For true freedom and free speech to exist without question, a certain amount of anonymity must also exist in some