Freedom, privacy and accessibility have long been important pillars of the internet. Yet in recent years they have been subject to government policies that threaten to eliminate anonymity and subject everyone to constant surveillance.
These policies harm not just the average person but also people who require internet anonymity to ensure their own safety and protect themselves from legal repercussions.
Victims of abuse seeking to leave their current situation are one of many examples. Those living in or from repressive countries depend on internet anonymity to safely communicate and discuss certain topics while avoiding persecution. Being in a freer country does not always shield someone from persecution.
For example, in the last decade, there have been reports of fake Chinese police cars being used to target Chinese dissidents and citizens in nations such as Australia and the US. There have also been various incidents where Russian political dissidents have been killed in state sanctioned assassinations while physically located in Western countries.
Internet anonymity empowers those from disadvantaged and oppressed groups. A good example is the gay community; despite widespread acceptance in Western countries, same sex relations are illegal in 66 countries as of August 2026 not including countries such as Russia which criminalise ‘gay propaganda’. The ability to communicate anonymously helps protect and empower them and their supporters.
I believe the gay community in the West is a significant beneficiary of internet anonymity. Throughout the 90s, 2000s and 2010s, they and their supporters were able to find each other and organise into a movement that would allow for wider acceptance and outcomes such as gay marriage. Without this, such progress would have occurred at a far slower rate.
Internet anonymity benefits victims of rape and sexual assault, and those from other stigmatised groups such as HIV positive or dealing with addiction. Meeting up online invites less exposure and barriers to entry than meeting in person. It also reduces legal complications. For example, many countries (including Australia) subject victims of sex crimes to gag orders, meaning that attaching one’s real name to an online account creates legal risks and leaves fewer legal avenues to seek support.
Anonymity also helps protect and gives more flexibility to journalists and their sources. For example, if a journalist wants to interview a political dissident from China, they can do this anonymously and leave their source with a far lower risk of being exposed. The same applies when conversing with whistleblowers.
As for the average person, I argue that everyone has an interest in and should have the right to remain anonymous online. To force everyone to require identification on all internet accounts represents a significant and unreasonable government overreach and invasion of privacy, and will not stop bad actors.
A good comparison with online identity verification is SIM card registration, although I would argue it is far more invasive. In many countries, including Australia, you must connect your identity to every SIM card that you register. As with online identity verification, the government justifies this policy on public safety grounds.
In reality, it harms vulnerable groups who may sometimes lack identification, and encourages bad actors to steal the identities of innocent people to engage in the same activities they would have been engaging in anyway. This is especially relevant with many people having their IDs exposed in mass data leaks.
As for how the average person benefits from being able to create an anonymous online account in day-to-day life, imagine you are someone who has a boss you really don’t like. Maybe you want advice on whether this person is truly crazy and whether you should just quit.
Let’s imagine your identity is connected to your account and gets leaked. If someone connects your account to your real identity, they can also figure out who you work for and who your boss is. This means you could be in trouble at work or even face legal action if what you said breaches a non-disclosure agreement or is considered damaging to the business, your boss or other employees.
Maybe you want to ask advice about a partner or a friend from a party with whom you have no personal relationship, or maybe you are simply seeking to have a political discussion online without an angry internet mob trying to ruin your life and get you fired from your job because they don’t like your political opinion or have decided whatever you said was offensive for some random reason.
Maybe you just don’t want your ID leaked in a data leak as has already occurred so many times, because that puts you at risk of identity theft from which you must pay to replace whatever identification has been compromised.
Without internet anonymity, the internet becomes a far less free, a far less private and a far less accessible place for everyone.
Jessica makes a strong case for the right to anonymity, and libertarians should defend it. Anonymity can protect whistleblowers, victims, dissidents, minorities and ordinary people from retaliation, and government should not force everyone to identify themselves before speaking.
But there is another important side.
ANONYMITY IS A PROTECTION — NOT A VIRTUE IN ITSELF.
There is something powerful about someone saying: “This is what I believe. This is my name. I am prepared to stand behind it.”
That person puts their reputation, relationships and credibility on the line. They are standing up to be counted.
A free society needs both: the anonymous dissident who genuinely needs protection and the citizen courageous enough to speak publicly despite the consequences.
I would never want government to remove the right to anonymity.
But neither should we create a culture where everyone hides behind it.
Protect anonymity where it protects liberty. But celebrate those who have the courage to put their name to their beliefs.
Freedom requires not only the right to speak—but citizens brave enough to use it.
Modern society has become a panopticon. My phone calls are tracked, my banking is tracked, my phone, TV, computer and iPad spy on me. Some guy from the other side of the world is watching me through the camera on my vacuum cleaner, and I can't leave my house without being photographed by dozens of cameras. Can I not have a modicum of privacy?