Online anonymity

[Penny Whistle]

According to https://order-order.com/2026/02/19/labour-peer-hod..., Margaret Hodge is a front-runner for the role of Ofcom chairman. She has apparently expressed the view that on-line anonymity should be banned.

Here on PH, most contributors engage under an alias, which is presumably considered to be anonymous. Should that be allowed to continue ?

In my case I use an alias because I might want to be able to disclose some details which I do not want to be publicly known and associated with me - maybe about finances or a medical situation or a neighbourhood dispute, for example.

Why do others use aliases, and should they be banned ?

[Wheel Turned Out]

An 81 year old being the front runner to become chair of Ofcom strikes me as bloody ridiculous from all angles.

[768]

There are many reasons why anonymity may be desirable online.

Fortunately, Hodge won't be able to prevent it. Totalitarian fkwits and their ban hammers.

[bristolracer]

The government have no understanding of anything to do with computing.
Buying systems for their own departments- always a cluster fk
Policing social media/ age restricted media- clueless
AI - fish out of water gasping for oxygen.

So yes, they will doubtless introduce something that will massively screw up everything for everyone

[swisstoni]

bristolracer said:

The government have no understanding of anything to do with computing.
Buying systems for their own departments- always a cluster fk
Policing social media/ age restricted media- clueless
AI - fish out of water gasping for oxygen.

So yes, they will doubtless introduce something that will massively screw up everything for everyone

There was a time they seemed to be about 20 years behind technology. I remember when MPs just didn't get the internet and online things at all.

That's going back a bit. They are probably 5 years behind now. They will have no clue about AI really and I can imagine Margaret is currently looking up what VPN is and not quite getting it.

[Ridgemont]

Bizarre idea not least because the internet isn t a British lake. Imagine. You have 70 odd million Brits suddenly wearing their actual identify online. I m sure hackers across the world would absolutely enjoy the chance of tracking you down and giving you a hug . Or something.

Edited by Ridgemont on Saturday 21st February 22:06

[g4ry13]

It's getting a bit North Korea / China here.

[768]

swisstoni said:

There was a time they seemed to be about 20 years behind technology. I remember when MPs just didn't get the internet and online things at all.

That's going back a bit. They are probably 5 years behind now. They will have no clue about AI really and I can imagine Margaret is currently looking up what VPN is and not quite getting it.

Encryption has been around an awful lot longer than 5 years and Hodge still doesn't get that.

[JagLover]

g4ry13 said:

It's getting a bit North Korea / China here.

This was always the end goal of the Online Safety Act. Lots of shrieks of "won't somebody please think of the children" to futilely try and disguise it.

[Monsterlime]

JagLover said:

g4ry13 said:

It's getting a bit North Korea / China here.

This was always the end goal of the Online Safety Act. Lots of shrieks of "won't somebody please think of the children" to futilely try and disguise it.

Very much so. Of course those with nothing to hide etc will have no problems when they mandate cameras in everyone's homes and then chips to monitor our thoughts to 'keep children safe'.

[otolith]

JagLover said:

This was always the end goal of the Online Safety Act. Lots of shrieks of "won't somebody please think of the children" to futilely try and disguise it.

Twenty year old cartoon.

Playbook hasn’t changed. Encouragingly, playbook hasn’t worked either, two decades on.

[KAgantua]

Difficult one.

A related topic on this one is 'free' apps eg YT, google etc.

Where you dont sign up and pay means they harvest and sell your data and fill it with ads.

If everyone have to pay and register this goes away mostly.

I like and support the ability to browse and post anonymously but acklowledge it introduces elelents of hate and also bot farms.

Make posting chargeable and linked to id sgain mostly goes away.

Im torn on this one.

[JoshSm]

There's more than one way to be anonymous, you can just use someone else's ID one way or another - there's billions of people out there to choose from of various nationalities & states of being alive.

Also plenty of the people keen on the idea of ending anonymity will surely be getting volunteered to take the fall.

[JoshSm]

KAgantua said:

Difficult one.

A related topic on this one is 'free' apps eg YT, google etc.

Where you dont sign up and pay means they harvest and sell your data and fill it with ads.

If everyone have to pay and register this goes away mostly.

I like and support the ability to browse and post anonymously but acklowledge it introduces elelents of hate and also bot farms.

Make posting chargeable and linked to id sgain mostly goes away.

Im torn on this one.

I think X already proves the point that having to/being able to pay does absolutely nothing to improve quality of posts or of a site in general.

[mikef]

I honestly believe that not every poster on this forum is authentic and a UK-based motoring enthusiast

[CraigyMc]

bristolracer said:

The government have no understanding of anything to do with computing.
Buying systems for their own departments- always a cluster fk
Policing social media/ age restricted media- clueless
AI - fish out of water gasping for oxygen.

So yes, they will doubtless introduce something that will massively screw up everything for everyone

Hate to break this to you, but there are bits of UK government that know exactly what they are doing. They are bits you just don't see.

Of course, politicians say stuff they don't believe in all the time. Expediency is the actual job.

[CT05 Nose Cone]

There are no upsides to removing online anonymity. Imagine a world where your employer could see everything you've said, every off colour joke and every political opinion you've ever had

[Sheets Tabuer]

I honestly believe if you didn't grow up with the internet you shouldn't have a say on it. It's not just a thing people use to talk to their cat groups on facebook, it was a complete culture shift.

If you don't understand that then you have no business commenting on it. I have no opinion of her but I doubt she knows that.

I personally wouldn't be on here or the internet in general if it wasn't anonymous.

[Penny Whistle]

Sheets Tabuer said:

I honestly believe if you didn't grow up with the internet you shouldn't have a say on it.

What on earth does that mean? Are you going to exclude those of us who played some part in the development of computer systems, comms and networking, just because of some arbitrary age limit ?

[Sheets Tabuer]

Penny Whistle said:

Sheets Tabuer said:

I honestly believe if you didn't grow up with the internet you shouldn't have a say on it.

What on earth does that mean? Are you going to exclude those of us who played some part in the development of computer systems, comms and networking, just because of some arbitrary age limit ?

I mean those that haven't a clue about what a culture shift the internet was shouldn't be brought in to guide it. They in most cases think the internet is Facebook and not the interconnected library that has not only brought the entirety of human knowledge to a smart phone or computer but allows communication between peoples despite the best efforts of their governments.

I'd have thought someone that had played a part in developing computer systems, comms and networking could have worked that out from my first sentence.