Anonymity, pseudonymity and real identity on the Web: will we always have a choice?

An early blog post by Francesca Pick — July 4, 2012.

I recently came upon a video of a panel titled “Building Trust in the Sharing Economy” from the annual Privacy Identity Innovation conference in Seattle. During the panel, experts discussed issues of privacy, trust and identity on the Web. There was one aspect they addressed which I found especially interesting: must users’ on- and offline identities be identical for them to be trusted on the web? Does one have to use one’s real name, or is it sufficient to use the same pseudonym consistently on all platforms?

When discussing this question, I find it important to differentiate between pseudonymity and anonymity. Since the actions of a person acting anonymously on the Web cannot be traced or sanctioned in any way, other users will probably not be very willing to trust this person. Pseudonymity is a very different story. When you think about it, apart from some aspects, is there such a large difference between using your real name on the Web and always using the same pseudonym? As opposed to anonymity, both leave a reputation trail that helps users gain each other’s trust. Once having laboriously built up a good online reputation, a person will not want to risk losing it, regardless of the name he uses.

Many P2P transactions do not necessarily require users to know each other’s real names. In many cases it is enough to know that a person goes by the same name on Facebook and Twitter, has a good eBay rating, and has satisfactory reviews on the platform you are using. It does not matter whether the person you swap clothes with on 99dresses is called “Jane Miller,” “Jane85,” or “Superman.” Jane85 is merely a sub-identity of Jane Miller, a nickname. In real life, people often have a variety of names for different social circles, so why not on the web? Many people also have good reasons for separating their on- and offline identities — for instance, if they are subject to discrimination or live somewhere without freedom of speech.

Of course, the situation is different on online platforms with higher personal risks, such as car, skill, or flat sharing. As brought up on the panel, a growing number of services such as the skill-sharing platform TaskRabbit require background checks or identity verification. It seems inevitable that, sooner or later, people who want to fully participate in the sharing economy must reveal their real identity. Making users do this is not that easy, however. When Google+ launched in 2011, it had a real-name policy requiring all users to sign up with their “real world” name. This policy was controversially discussed and recently revised due to complaints from people whose accounts were shut down because they used a pseudonym.

The reactions to this policy show that by forcing people to use their real names, their freedom is being restricted. Even though having the same on- and offline identity has many advantages, such as helping users gain credibility, it also reminds me of a somewhat creepy, big-brother-like scenario, in which a person’s every action can be linked to their completely transparent identity. This is why I find it important that using your real name on the Web remain a choice. Trust online can also be built by using a pseudonym. The bottom line is that when an individual does decide it’s more beneficial to use his real name, it should be his personal decision.

Danah Boyd also wrote a great article in reaction to the Google+ real-name policy about the importance of pseudonymity, worth a look if you’re interested in the topic.

The original post also embedded “Building Trust in the Sharing Economy” by Marc Licciardi on Vimeo — the real-names-vs-pseudonyms discussion starts around minute 16.