The ethics of online anonymity or Zuckerberg vs. “moot”

Robert Bodle CEPE 2011 Milwaukee, WI

Five years of interoperability advances

Facebook Developer (2006) Facebook Platform (2007)Facebook Connect (2008)Open Stream (2009)Open Graph (2010)

Sharing one's 'social graph'

interoperable applications

mashups widgetssocial games desktopmobile social plug-ins

The “Like” button

Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook's real name only policy

“Impersonating anyone or anything is not permitted. To encourage people to use their real names on Facebook, we limit the number of times names can be changed. Also, if a Facebook representative changes your name for you, this change is considered final and you can’t manually change your name afterwards.”

Definition of anonymity

“nonidentifiability by virtue of

noncoordinatability of traits” (Wallace)

Zuckerberg vs. 'moot'

“having two identities for yourself is an example of lack of integrity” (Zuckerberg)

Zuckerberg vs. 'moot'

“having two identities for yourself is an example of lack of integrity” (Zuckerberg)

“I think that's totally wrong . . . anonymity is authenticity” (Poole a.k.a. 'moot')

Fully anonymous posts – by design

Anonymous collective action

Anonymous campaigns

Anonymous campaigns

Anonymous campaigns

Anonymous Campaigns

overview

cost/benefit analysis of anonymity – two fold effects of anonymity

deontological appraisal of anonymity– anonymity as enabling other rights

pluralist approach– combining frameworks– diverse implementation of anonymity

recommendations– gov, companies, users

Anonymity common in online communities?

Anonymity - 90% of posts are completely anonymous

Ephemerality – a discussion thread lasts “an averages 5 minutes”

(Berstein, Hernandez, Harry, Andre, Panovich, and Vargas, 2011)

Anonymity common in online communities?

“One important social rule . . . that Nobody is anonymous. Everybody is required to attach their real userid to their postings. It is possible to use pseudonyms to create alternate identities . . . but the pseudonyms are always linked in every posting to the real userid” (Stewart Brand qut in Rheingold, p. 38, 2000).

Two-sided effects of anonymity

Minimizes accountabilityDisinhibitionDepersonalization

Limits of utilitarianism

-doesn’t account for the underlying values,

and “ideals of justice and human rights” (Spinello, 2003)

-doesn't account for the “extended range of our actions” in digital media (Ess, 2009).

Deontology and rights based ethics

Immanuel Kant - Absolutist moral principles generated from imperatives:

-each of us should act according to the principles that we wish other

rational beings to act on.

-human beings should be treated as ends rather than as means.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Article 12: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence . . .

Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

“Indeed, throughout history,

people’s willingness to engage in

debate on controversial subjects

in the public sphere has always

been linked to possibilities for

doing so anonymously” (La Rue,

p. 15. 2011).

Human Rights on the Internet are interpreted and applied differently

-arbitrary blocking or filtering of content -criminalization of legitimate expression -imposition of intermediary liability

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Sarkozy and Zuckerberg at G8

Critique of the Categorical Imperative

-inflexibility

-inability to “make room for justified and

important ‘exceptions to the rule’” (Ess, 181,

2009)

Meta-ethical Pluralism

- a shared single norm applied “in diverse ways,

in diverse contexts” (Ess, p. 191, 2009)

Ethical Pluralism – balancing human rights laws online

Prima facie duties (W.D. Ross)

Principalism (Beachamp and Childress)

“Principles of necessity and proportionality”

(La Rue, 2011).

Summary - Ethics of Anonymity

-benefits and positive effects

-enables privacy and freedom of expression

-flexible implementation

Conclusion – How to ensure the “noncoordinatability of traits”

-identification should be opt in-anonymity should be the default-encourage a culture of responsible anonymity

Conclusion – How to ensure the “noncoordinatability of traits”

-identification should be opt in-anonymity should be the default-encourage a culture of responsible anonymity -embrace anonymity & security tools-challenge persistent user identity online

Anonymity revisited - FTW

Thank you for your attention.

robert_bodle@mail.msj.edu

http://twitter.com/robertbodle

The ethics of online anonymity or Zuckerberg vs. “moot”

Robert Bodle CEPE 2011 Milwaukee, WI