Anonymous Communications
on the Internet

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has conducted a project that addresses the effects of anonymous and pseudonymous communications on the Internet.

Our project is funded by the National Science Foundation's Ethics and Values Studies Program (which is now a part of the Societal Dimensions of Engineering, Science, and Technology Program) of the Division of Social, Behavioral and Economic Research and the Office of Cross-Disciplinary Activities of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate. The AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility is sponsoring our project together with the National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists, a joint committee of AAAS and the American Bar Association.

This effort builds on a 1995 AAAS project that studied ethical, legal, and social aspects of networked computing. One of the conclusions of the previous project was that a wide range of participants in computer networks, as well as those who recommend policies for network users and providers, would benefit from a close look at and analysis of anonymous and pseudonymous communications on the Internet.

Project Activities

On-Line Survey

AAAS conducted an on-line survey of personal experiences with anonymous and pseudonymous communications. The survey results were edited, compiled, and presented at a conference held in November (described below).

Focus Groups

During the summer of 1997, AAAS convened several focus group meetings. The focus groups discussed the use of anonymity and pseudonymity in the following areas: law enforcement, journalism, counseling and support services, whistleblowing, and human rights. Discussions focused on the roles anonymity and pseudonymity have played in those areas traditionally (that is, off-line). The results of these focus group meetings were used to inform discussion at the November conference.

Conference

AAAS convened a workshop-style, invitational conference in Irvine, California, in November 1997. It was hosted by the University of California at Irvine's Department of Information and Computer Sciences and the Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations.

Products

• A report on the project, along with several commissioned papers, was published in The Information Society, a key forum for leading-edge analysis of the impacts, policies, system concepts, and methodologies related to information technologies and changes in society and culture. Available online are two reports from the conference: Anonymous Communication Policies for the Internet: Results and Recommendations of the AAAS Conference, and Assessing Anonymous Communication on the Internet: Policy Deliberations.
• A symposium related to the study was presented at the 1998 AAAS Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in February.
• Several case studies on issues associated with anonymous communication on the Internet were prepared for educational purposes.