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Archive for the ‘Anonymity’ Category

Beware anyone called A.Nony Mouse | Hugo Rifkind - Times Online

October 17, 2008
Beware anyone called A.Nony Mouse
Maybe ‘a Whitehall source’ is not a real name
Hugo Rifkind

So I was reading about the security services’ concern over internet anonymity, and something was bothering me. There was a line in The Guardian. ‘People have many accounts and sign up as Mickey Mouse and no one knows who they are,’ a Whitehall source had said. ‘We have to do something.’ And I was perturbed.

At first, I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe, I thought, I had done one of those inadvertent bits of mental gymnastics, where you read ‘Whitehall source’ and you think, perhaps, ‘Whitehall sauce’. Like Worcester sauce, only fishy-tasting, and with a bowler hat as a cap. Or maybe it was the idea of Mickey Mouse being carted off to Guantanamo. Duct-tape over the paws, sodden ears flapping around on the waterboard.

Reading it again, though, it hit me. A Whitehall source? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I had a sudden hunch. Maybe, I found myself thinking, ‘a Whitehall source’ was not this person’s real name.

Hey, I could be wrong. Possibly the ‘A’ stood for something. Alan? Arnold? Young Archibald Whitehall-Source, quite the easiest gig the school careers master ever had. Although I doubt it. I think my hunch was correct. I think this was somebody speaking anonymously, expressing his concerns that other people were speaking anonymously.

It looks bad. Imagine Gordon Brown had said “the City must curb its irresponsible behaviour”, while nipping into his local branch of Ladbrokes to place a massive flutter on a three-legged nag that some geezer had tipped down the boozer. Imagine Linda McCartney had preached vegetarianism while tucking into a juicy steak. Imagine Al Gore had warned us about climate change, while simultaneously flying all over the world and leaving his lights on.

Actually, wait. You don’t need to imagine that last one. But think about it, anyway. It’s just the same.

Anonymity is the great democratic boon of the internet age. And yes, some people will exploit it in order to join social networking groups called “People Who Want To Bathe In the Blood Of The Slaughtered Infidel”, or whatever. Most, though, do not. They just use it in order to express views that they hold dearly, and perhaps passionately, without having to fear that those who oppose these views will come and lurk with a chainsaw in the shrubbery of their front gardens. Or arrest them. Or associate them forever with some comment which, on reflection, makes them look like a bit of a berk. You’d think Mr Whitehall Source would understand that. Even better than most.

U.N. agency eyes curbs on Internet anonymity | Politics and Law - CNET News: “”

Posted by Declan McCullagh, U.N. agency eyes curbs on Internet anonymity, September 12, 2008 4:00 AM PDT

A United Nations agency is quietly drafting technical standards, proposed by the Chinese government, to define methods of tracing the original source of Internet communications and potentially curbing the ability of users to remain anonymous.
(more…)

Anonymous web comments protected like journalists’ sources, rules Montana court: “A court in Montana has ruled that a newspaper does not have to reveal the identity of those who posted comments on its website. A state law that protects journalists from revealing their sources also protects a news site’s user comments, the court ruled.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

Journalist claims victory in protection of sources ruling: “Police were right to ask a journalist to reveal source material for a book about terrorism but the terms of the order obtained were too wide, the High Court has ruled. Arguments on what the terms of the production order should be will be heard this week.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

Secure-Tunnel Announces Release of ST Xpress, A Free Anonymous Web Proxy

Secure-Tunnel.com announced the release of a free anonymous proxy service to combat internet censorship. The new service dubbed Secure-Tunnel Xpress requires no installation and can be used from anywhere internet access is available. The new service can be found at https://www.secure-tunnel.com.

(more…)

EFF pushes court to block unmasking of anonymous MySpace user: “

Constitutional challenge mounted

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is waging a constitutional challenge against an Illinois politician seeking to unmask an anonymous MySpace user accused of creating impostor profiles and posting defamatory material on them.…

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(Via The Register - Public Sector.)