Assessing anonymous communication on the internet: Policy deliberations

Anonymous communication on the Internet offers new opportunities but has il l-understood risks. This article helps to ground the policy debates by exam ining some fundamental aspects of anonymous social behavior and current con troversies over anonymous communications. It is a companion to the article in this issue, "Anonymous Communication Policies for the Internet: Results and Recommendations of the AAAS Conference." It examines the social charact er of anonymous communication and the ways that anonymous communication has played important roles for professionals such as journalists and the polic e. It also explains some of the new technological supports for anonymous co mmunication on the Internet. The openness, decentralization, and transnatio nal character of the Internet challenge the efficacy of traditional control mechanisms and have raised issues related to accountability, law enforceme nt, security and privacy, governmental empowerment, and e-commerce. Yet, to ban or restrict all anonymous communication online because of the harms it could bring would deny its benefits to those people who may legitimately g ain from it. This article helps to understand how to balance these position s.