Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Why Anonymity Matters

Anonymity is the corner stone of Free Speech.

If cannot make anonymous comment then you are beholden to those that do not want you to say things about them that they don't like or if your views are of a differing standpoint to theirs.

Governments have an upper hand on this as they can control Internet access and pass legislation that companies and citizens within their jurisdictions abide. When it comes to those citizens themselves and when the disputes are cross-jurisdictional things are not so clear. Issues with national security take presidence and to a lesser degree issues with copyright enforcement.

It is likely that this post is going to be found by those that are looking for ways to avoid being detected when they are downloading copyright protected media. This is not my main concern. Although that this is big business and there are many that would like to offer you a solution, I am more interested in this from an academic perspective. I have in the past detailed and reviewed such services, however, due to the type of response that I was getting from some of the posts I have changed my emphasis in this regard. You will still find some of these reviews on this blog but I am not really interested in helping others break laws and circumvent legislation. I am interested in what the industry and governments are doing to combat this problem.

The more general issue of anonymity as it relates to the ability for citizens to make comments on things that may not be in line with the views of their governments and other citizens is the real issue here. The evolution of technology is potentially allowing a far greater level of vulnerability and "Big Brother" will have tools that make the current abilities look like those from the Stone Age.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am requesting one last and very final time that you stop your slandering and posting Of info you have no permission in doing so. The irritations will be reciprocated as you think my silence is weakness. Rogers is now interested in you. Your site has me interested in you. You have been interested in me far too long, posting me my picture and slandering with them ( the profile and picture ).