Session
Organizer 1: Aly Marino, Wikimedia Foundation
Organizer 2: Jan Gerlach, Wikimedia Foundation
Organizer 3: Kate Ruane, Wikimedia Foundation
Speaker 1: Natalia Krapiva, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Alejandra Caraballo, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Abdias Zambrano, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Jan Gerlach, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Aly Marino, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Kate Ruane, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Round Table - U-shape - 60 Min
Is anonymity essential to human rights online?
In what ways do journalists, activists, dissidents, and marginalized groups use anonymity to protect themselves and advance their viewpoints?
How can policymakers and platforms combat spam, disinformation, and cybersecurity threats while preserving people’s ability to engage anonymously online?
Connection with previous Messages:
5.5
5.6
5.b
10. Reduced Inequalities
Targets: Gender Equality SDGs: 5.5, 5.6, 5.b
- Anonymity and privacy contributes to gender equality in that it can eliminate any biases inherent in receiving information where the receiver is aware of the gender designation or presentation of the speaker. Misogyny, transphobia, and other prejudices against differing expressions of gender will not be present (or will be significantly mitigated) if the speaker is able to remain anonymous in their communication. In this way, the speaker can choose to refrain from revealing their gender, and more freely enter certain discourses and without fear of being targeted or attacked based on their gender.
- It is essential that girls, women, and other gender minorities be able to anonymously access and share comprehensive and accurate information on sexual health, sexual violence, and other topics that they may be prevented from safely accessing in other ways.
- Proposals to require online identity verification, retention, and disclosure threaten the human rights of girls, women, and other gender minorities. This is particularly important in the current global political climate with respect to sexual health and reproductive health and reproductive rights. Reproductive rights advocates and providers who specialize in reproductive healthcare are becoming increasingly reliant on anonymous communication methods as countries and localities continue to restrict access to information and services, and criminalize decisions related to reproductive and bodily autonomy.
Reduce inequality SDGs: 10, 10.2, 10.3
- Permitting anonymous access and speech online will reduce other inequalities in access to certain spaces and communications platforms in the same way it does for gender equality.
- Preserving the right and ability to browse, communicate, and participate anonymously online will empower and promote the social and political inclusion of all irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, economic or other status.
- Moreover, it will help to ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome.
Description:
People, particularly those located in countries with large surveillance states and/or authoritarian governments, need to be able to communicate anonymously online in order to be able to communicate accurately. Anonymous communication is essential to the free exchange of knowledge and to the socialization of new ideas. Speaking anonymously particularly provides protection to journalists, dissidents, and minority communities that challenge their governments and the dominant culture, document human rights abuses and speak truth to power. Free knowledge projects like Wikipedia believe in this strongly and for that reason has always allowed anyone to edit the website without creating an account.
Nevertheless, governments around the world are considering measures that will require online platforms to verify the identity of their users, often under the theory that doing so will help to protect children from harmful content or from predatory behavior. Elon Musk, in his bid to acquire Twitter, trumpeted that Twitter would verify all users after he bought the company. He seemed to believe that doing so would help to combat spam and other nuisance content. These are not new ideas, nor new justifications for the idea of requiring everyone to verify their identities in order to participate in online conversations. They also fail to take into account circumstances in which anonymity can be essential to the free exchange of knowledge and to ensuring that everyone can participate equitably in the global knowledge development.
This session will explore the dangers posed by proposals to require identity verification, retention and disclosure, and how the associated-privacy issues have evolved in the last 5-7 years, particularly when considered in combination with the rise of cross-platform monitoring. We will discuss why anonymity is essential to protecting human rights online and will specifically address the need for anonymous communications among on specific communities, professions, and activities, including undocumented immigrants, stateless individuals, homeless individuals, the LGBTQ+ community (especially Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) folks), sex workers, reproductive rights advocates and providers, human rights activists, political dissidents and journalists.
The report of the workshop will be published on the Wikimedia Foundation’s public policy blog and shared with policy networks such as the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network, GNI, and the Network of Centers.
Hybrid Format: We anticipate that most of the participants and organizers will be participating digitally in the session, but we will enlist at least one representative attending IGF in person to “run the room” during the session to make sure in-person participants can hear and understand the organizers and participants, and to relay questions and responses by in-person participants. In order to ensure both in-person and digital participants' questions are answered, we will ask that anyone wishing to speak raise their hand digitally so they can be placed in order.
Usage of IGF Official Tool.