Coming to a website near you this summer: the European Commission is close to a ‘solution’ that could force people to use their government-issued ID to get online. EDRi and EFF’s concerns about threats to everyone’s privacy and data protection, a chilling effect on access to information, and digital exclusion – harming the already most marginalised in society - remain unsolved.
I don’t like the idea but look where anonymity has gotten us. Lots of hate and false bravery hiding behind an alias.
Now there can be lots of hate and false bravery but with doxxing.
I didn’t notice there to be less hate in spaces mostly without anonymity, or less false bravery.
However, being “anonymous”, but identifiable with some work is still better than being identifiable immediately.
It’s the opposite of security, people create tools to have perfect forward secrecy, ephemeral keys, deniability - all for good reasons, now someone wants put a metaphorical gun to everyone’s heads telling we’ll be safer.
It’s really better to not say anything approving in that direction. Every word matters.
I preferred the pre-tech “phonebook” stage where all you had was your name (and whatever else was attached to it based on one’s own behaviour).