[IP] BBC News: "The cost of online anonymity"
Begin forwarded message:
From: Seth Finkelstein <sethf@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 11, 2005 5:23:44 PM EDT
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>, Ip Ip <ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: BBC News: "The cost of online anonymity"
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/
programmes/click_online/4227578.stm
BBC NEWS
The cost of online anonymity
By Dan Simmons
Reporter, BBC Click Online
In the second report looking at privacy and the internet, Dan
Simmons examines whether it is possible to be totally anonymous and
asks if this is really a desirable thing.
In London's Speaker's Corner, the right to freedom of expressions
has been practised by anyone who cares to turn up for centuries.
But in countries where free speech is not protected by the
authorities, hiding your true identity is becoming big business.
Just as remailers act as a go-between for e-mail, so there are
services through which you can surf the web anonymously.
After 10 years in the business, Anonymizer has two million active
users. The US government pays it to promote the service in China
and Iran in order to help promote free speech.
But these programs are becoming popular in the West too.
The software encrypts all your requests for webpages. Anonymizer's
servers then automatically gather the content on your behalf and
send it back to you.
No humans are involved and the company does not keep records of who
requests what.
However, there is some censorship. Anonymizer does not support
anonymous uploading to the web, and it blocks access to material
that would be illegal under US law.
No to censorship
For the last five years, Ian Clarke has been working on a project
to offer complete anonymity.
Founder and co-ordinator of Freenet, Ian Clarke says: "Our goal was
to provide a system whereby people could share information over the
internet without revealing their identity and without permitting
any form of government censorship."
The system is called the Free Network Project, or Freenet. A
Chinese version has been set up to help dissidents speak out there.
We believe that the benefits of Freenet, for example for dissidents
in countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, far outweigh the
dangers of paedophilia or terrorist information being distributed
over the system
Ian Clarke, Freenet
Freenet encourages anonymous uploading of any material. Some users
of the English version believe it is so secure they have used it to
confess to crimes they have committed, or to their interest in
paedophilia.
Each user's computer becomes a node in a decentralised file-storing
network. As such they give up a small portion of their hard disk
to help the system hold all the information and as with anonymous
surfing, everything is encrypted, with a military grade 128-bit
algorithm.
The storage is dynamic, with files automatically moved between
computers on the network or duplicated. This adds to the difficulty
of determining who might be storing what.
Even if a user's computer is seized, it can be impossible for
experts to determine what the owner was doing on Freenet.
But such strenuous efforts to protect identity have two side
effects.
Firstly, pages can take 10 minutes or more to download, even on a
2Mbbps broadband connection.
Secondly, the information is so well encrypted it is not searchable
at the moment. Forget Google, your only option is to scroll
through the indexes provided.
It is hoped usability of the service will improve when it is
re-launched later this year.
Ethical issues
But those are the least of our problems, according to some experts,
who think Freenet is a dangerous free-for-all.
Digital evidence expert at the London School of Economics, Peter
Sommer says: "A few years ago I was very much in favour of
libertarian computing.
"What changed my mind was the experience of acting in the English
courts as a computer expert and examining large numbers of
computers from really nasty people, who were using precisely the
same sort of technology in order to conceal their activities.
"I think that creates an ethical dilemma for everyone who wants to
participate in Freenet.
"You are giving over part of your computer, it will be in encrypted
form, you will not know what you are carrying, but some of it is
going to be seriously unpleasant. Are you happy with that?"
What worries many, is that Freenet is a lawless area.
It can be used for many good things, like giving the oppressed a
voice, but users can also preach race-hatred or share child
pornography with complete impunity.
Peter Sommer says: "Ian [Clarke] is placing a powerful tool in the
hands of other people. He's like an armaments manufacturer.
"Guns can be used for all sorts of good purposes but you know
perfectly well that they are used to oppress and kill.
"Most armaments manufacturers walk off and say 'it's not my
responsibility'. Is that Ian's position, I wonder?"
Ian Clarke response is to explain that any tool is capable of
misuse.
"We believe that the benefits of Freenet, for example for
dissidents in countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, Iran far
outweigh the dangers of paedophilia or terrorist information being
distributed over the system," he says.
Commercial programs for the web help you maintain a high degree of
anonymity while surfing or mailing, but the realm of publishing
anonymously, without fear of any comeback, challenges each society
to ask just how free we want ourselves and others to be.
Click Online is broadcast on BBC News 24: Saturday at 2030,
Sunday at
0430 and 1630, and on Monday at 0030. A short version is also
shown on
BBC Two: Saturday at 0645 and BBC One: Sunday at 0730 . Also BBC
World.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/programmes/click_online/
4227578.stm
Published: 2005/09/09 18:03:22 GMT
© BBC MMV
--
Seth Finkelstein Consulting Programmer http://sethf.com
Seth Finkelstein's Infothought blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/
Interview: http://sethf.com/essays/major/greplaw-interview.php
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