The people from the Tor project published a statement about the relevance of online anonymity, in the context of the recent struggle in the US between the FBI and Apple around the security of an Apple iPhone (Apple refuses the US government access to unlocking the phone of one of the San Bernadino terrorists).
Surveilling consumption
Still, everything is being done to transform the opaque and anonymous consumer into a transparent and identifiable one. Sami Coll analyses consumer surveillance and it becomes clear why anonymity has little place in it. See: Sami Coll (2016) Discipline and Reward: The Surveillance of Consumers through Loyalty Cards, Geschichte und Gesellschaft 42(1)
Anonymous Searches
In an interview with Google CEO Eric Schmidt (2011), he not only said: „We know where you are – with your permission. We know where you’ve been – with your permission. And then we can more or less guess what you’re thinking about.“ – but also: „You can do anonymous searches, they are just not […]
Daniel de Zeeuw on Anonymity
The Dutch media theorist Daniel de Zeeuw has published several articles and interviews on Anonymity, and the Anonymous hacker group. His MA-thesis was „One Name, One Game. Anonymous and the revenge of the object.“ He is currently working on a PhD project at the University of Amsterdam, about the politics and aesthetics of anonymity in […]
Social Identity and De-Individuation
„The social identity model of deindividuation effects (or SIDE model) is a theory from Social Psychology that deals with the effects of (partial) anonymity and identifiability on group behavior.
Geographic Profiling
Scientists have used geographic profiling methods to try and identify the pseudonymous UK street artist Banksy. The commentaries (links see below) are more critical than this introductory abstract: „The pseudonymous artist Banksy is one of the UK’s most successful contemporary artists, but his identity remains a mystery. Here, we use a Dirichlet process mixture (DPM) […]
Project on Identity Management Technologies
The project „IMprints“ is based esp. at Loughborough University and at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in the UK and deals with public responses to Future Identity Management practices and technologies.
The Right to Anonymity
The World Charter of Free Media, issued in Tunis in March 2015, demands „the right to anonymity“.
Anonymity in Journalism (in German)
The results of a workshop on the role of anonymity, especially with regard to journalism, were summarised in this blog entry at Berliner Gazette: Sind wir bereit für Anonymität? / Are we ready for anonymity? It features two short case studies, one on Belarus, the other on France. – Particularly useful is the toolbox for […]