{"id":1196,"date":"2011-07-22T16:44:39","date_gmt":"2011-07-23T00:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=1196"},"modified":"2011-07-22T16:48:09","modified_gmt":"2011-07-23T00:48:09","slug":"who-is-harmed-by-a-real-names-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.identityblog.com\/?p=1196","title":{"rendered":"Who is harmed by a “Real Names” policy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Skud at Geek Feminism Blog<\/a> has created a wiki documenting work she and her colleagues are doing to “draft a comprehensive list” of those who would be harmed by a policy banning pseudonymity and requiring \u201creal names\u201d.<\/p>\n

The result is impressive.\u00a0 The rigour Skud and colleagues have applied to their quest has produced an information payload that is both illuminating and touching.<\/p>\n

Those of us working on identity technology have to internalize the lessons here.\u00a0 Over-identification is ALWAYS wrong.\u00a0 But beyond that, there are people who are especially vulnerable to it.\u00a0 They have to be treated as first class citizens with clear rights and we need to figure out how to protect them.\u00a0 This goes beyond what we conventionally think of as privacy concerns (although perhaps it sheds light on the true nature of what privacy is – I'm still learning).<\/p>\n

Often people argue in favor of “Real Names” in order to achieve accountability.\u00a0 The fact is that technology offers us other ways to achieve accountability.\u00a0 By leveraging the properties of minimal disclosure technology, we can allow people to remain anonymous and yet bar them from given environments if their behavior gets sufficiently anti-social.<\/p>\n

But enough editorializing.\u00a0 Here's Skud's intro.\u00a0 Just remember that in this case the real enlightenment is in the details<\/a>, not the summary.<\/p>\n

This page lists groups of people who are disadvantaged by any policy which bans Pseudonymity<\/a> and requires so-called “Real names” (more properly, legal names).<\/p>\n

This is an attempt to create a comprehensive list of groups of people who are affected by such policies.<\/p>\n

The cost to these people can be vast, including:<\/p>\n