Transparency, Anonymity and Pseudonymity 17 comments

20 Mar 2006 @ 01:56, by Uncle Remus In an essay titled, Thinking Outside the Box: Considering Transparency, Anonymity, and Pseudonymity as Overall Solutions to the Problems of Information Privacy in the Internet Society [pdf file], Tal Z. Zarsky* analyzes various aspects of transparency, anonymity, and pseudonymity and envisions societies where our personal information is, respectively, out in the open, hidden in its entirety, or somewhat blurred due to the use of multiple identities. The author starts by discussing and analyzing transparency (a transparent society features constant and broad surveillance, but provides everyone with access to the outputs of such sureveillance), but mostly finds it unsuitable as a response to today’s privacy concerns, because the provision of vast amounts of personal information comes with incurable side effects----potential for abuse, misuse, error, discrimination, manipulation, and "the autonomy trap." The author also raises serious doubts as to the assumption that a “transparent society” would prove sufficient in leveling the playing field between the stronger and weaker players in the current information market. From there, the author moves on to anonymity (by which, theoretically the above problems can be solved by disconnecting the information collected and the individuals to whom it pertains). The drawback, however, is that it also brings the flow of information to a halt and creates powerful side effects of its own----loss of accountability, distribution of false information, and loss of civility present in face-to-face encounters. Ultimately, the author settles for an intermediate solution---pseudonymity*---that solves many of today’s privacy concerns without much of the drawbacks of raw anonymity. Such a mechanism allows the speaker to create ongoing accountability and goodwill for the specific alias (which takes on a personality of its own), without revealing its real source or the individual’s own identity. By allowing the individual to directly and discreetly receive messages intended for the alias, with two-way communications---what the author calls "traceable pseudonimity"----a pseudonymous society can even accommodate actual interactions or business transactions and can empower individuals in unique and surprising ways. *Pseudonymity means 'pen name' and describes a state of disguised identity resulting from the use of a pseudonym (also called nym). link The pseudonym identifies a holder, that is, one or more human beings who possess but do not disclose their true names (that is, legal identities). For example, all of the Federalists Papers were signed by Publius, a pseudonym shared by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. QUOTE OF THE DAY: As it is right now, humankind is a schizophrenic moron. Or manic-depressive, maybe. Sometimes brilliant and productive, mostly lethargic, largely criminally destructive. Despite that many members of the human race are well-meaning, knowledgeable and resourceful. We desperately need to be connected in a manner that is constructively complex, so as to awaken our collective intelligence. Maybe that is something we can do on the internet, maybe it is a different way of doing a few key things. It appears that none of us are smart enough to solve the puzzle. But we might be smart enough to discover patterns that allow something bigger to emerge. We might not be clever enough to know exactly how to do it, but we might know how to start something that triggers the emergence of a bigger level of intelligence. ----Ming TV - Key Concept PICTURE OF THE DAY:

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