In a process that started decades ago, a multiplicity of forces is creating a slow, but steadily rising storm against anonymity. Discourses of transparency and accountability often describe anonymity as a threat. Technologies such as the IP-address-based Internet, sensory devices, and machine learning techniques further undermine anonymous encounters. In an age of near ubiquitous surveillance […]

J. Nathan Matias writes in The Real Name Fallacy: „People often say that online behavior would improve if every comment system forced people to use their real names. It sounds like it should be true – surely nobody would say mean things if they faced consequences for their actions? Yet the balance of experimental evidence over the past […]

RCA-associate researcher Alexandra Waligorski has just published an article (in German) that reviews current artistic practices that reflect on masking and transparency: Alexandra Waligorski: „Datenmasken und Mugshots. Maskierung als künstlerische Praxis in einer transparenten Gesellschaft.“ in Kritische Berichte, Heft 1.2016, „Ästhetik(en) des Widerstands“, S. 8-19.