A major association of scientists said that consumers must be allowed the right to remain anonymous online if the Internet is to thrive as a commercial and communications medium. Their warning to would-be regulators of Internet communications: Don't mess with anonymity.
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"The nature of the Internet makes possible some uniquely useful types of communication that involve anonymity," said Al Teich, director of Science and Policy Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
"This is not a fruitful area of regulation for now or in the future."
The AAAS, publisher of the respected scientific journal Science, conducted the study, titled Anonymous Communication Policies for the Internet.
"While there are certainly ways [that] anonymous communication can be misused, it seems to us the benefits from the positive uses far outweigh the risks."
Teich said that those benefits include corporate whistle-blowing and anonymous commercial transactions, as well as the value of anonymity to human rights groups and personal counseling online. "People will often be eager to stay behind a curtain."
Governments should therefore be wary of regulation that would limit how people conceal their identities on the Internet, the study concluded. Such regulations could prevent the proliferation of open electronic communications and electronic commerce.
The AAAS said the study is the first in-depth look at how to balance the costs and benefits of anonymous Net communication. The findings were presented in the April-June issue of The Information Society, an international journal based at Indiana University's School of Library and Information Science.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the study -- the result of two years of research.
The study acknowledges that anonymity also protects users who take part in offensive and criminal activities -- from unsolicited commercial email to hate mail to child pornography and financial fraud.
To counter such behavior the study recommended online communities set their own policies on the use of anonymous communication. The authors also suggested that Internet users must be kept informed of the extent to which their identity is disclosed online.
The Clinton administration strictly limits the export of high-powered encryption software -- the single most powerful tool for anonymity -- on the grounds that it might be used by criminals to conceal their activities.
Both Congress and the Senate are pondering legislation that would loosen those restrictions, but past efforts have been foiled by backstage lobbying from law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
The AAAS study found that regulations that control anonymity on the Internet will hamper technological advancement and undermine the open exchange of information.
Ari Schwartz, policy analyst for Washington policy group the Center for Democracy and Technology said the CDT has been saying for a long time that anonymity is an essential part of protecting users' freedom and the democratic potential of the Internet.
"The study seems to detail exactly the places where anonymity plays a very important role, and that the ability for users to have control over their information is quite important.
"I think it will certainly play a role [in the outcome of policy changes or any proposed regulations]. I haven't heard a message that everybody needs to be identified on the Net -- but studies such as this allow us to have a balanced debate on security and privacy and free speech."
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