Anonymity in the Age of the Internet

Abstract

While in its early phases the Internet had been based on anonymous communication within virtual communities, the past two decades have brough about a reversal. The proliferation of digital networking platforms, on one hand, and loose internet privacy policies, on another, have been narrowing the space for anonymous use of the Internet. Based on these trends the paper deals with the transformation of the role of online anonymity in the socio-legal perspective. In the first part we demonstrate that anonymity accompanies the modernization of contemporary societies, but there are also various freedom and security challenges. In the second part of the paper, we analyze internet anonymity as a phenomenon, assessing both arguments in favor and against it. We are particularly interested in identification of the stakeholders who advocate overall deanonymization, as one of the crucial characteristics of public and private life in contemporary society.