EFF "Anonymity/Pseudonymity" Archive

Files in this Archive

1999_09_DoS_remail_vuln.html

This article talks about remailer vulnerabilities and the possibilities of NSA and the CIA using Denial of Service attacks to make annonymus remailers harder to use and less likely to be used.

19980310_freeh_allen_sen_cjs_app.testimony

FBI Director Louis Freeh's testimony on protecting children from online predators.

960923_penet_injunction.announce

Press release on the winning of an injunction by Johan Helsingius (operator of Finnish pseudonymous remailer anon.penet.fi) against preliminary court ruling that he would have to reveal the true identity of a user of the system.

960830_penet_closure.announce

Press release on the closure of pseudonymous remailer anon.penet.fi, from the server's administrator, Johan "Julf" Helsingius, in response to preliminary ruling from Finnish courts that email has no privacy protection.

anon_remailer.faq

Anonymous remailer FAQ.

anon_remailer.info

Misc. anonymous remailer information.

anon_juris.article

"The Coming Jurisdictional Swamp of Global Internetworking (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Anonymity)", by Douglas Barnes. Overview of several reasons why anonymity on the Net is a good idea, and a look at the many ways in which a foreign jurisdiction can exercise authority over citizens of other countries.

anonymity_online_johnson.article

"The Unscrupulous Diner's Dilemma and Anonymity in Cyberspace", article by David Johnson. Excerpt: "The ultimate implication, I believe, is that to achieve a civilized form of cyberspace, we have to limit the use of anonymous communications. Many early citizens of cyberspace will bitterly oppose any such development, arguing that anonymous and pseudonymous electronic communications are vital to preserve electronic freedoms and allow free expression of human personality. But the problem with that view is that we all collectively face the diners' dilemma -- we must collaborate in groups to build a rich social fabric, and we know that the ability to act anonymously, sporadically, in large groups brings out the worst in human character." One of Mr. Johnson's more controversial pieces.

can_anonymity.law

Summary of Canadian law supporting a right to anonymity and pseudonymity.

hal_remailer.help

Help file for Hal Finney's (and others) anon. remailers.

net_anonymity.faq

FAQ file regarding anonymity on the Internet.

privacy_anonymity.faq

FAQ on identity, privacy and anonymity on the Internet.

remailer.list

pointer to list of remailers.

strassmann_anti-remailer.paper

a Jan. 1996 paper by Paul Strassmann of West Point Military Academy, and William Marlow of SAIC, labelling anonymous remailers and their supposed potential for "information terrorists" to be "by far the greastest threat to the commercial, economic and political viability of the Global Information Infrastructure." A deeply flawed, hysterial, and factually incorrect piece of work, right up there with Denning's "crypto-anarchy" paper, and Rimm's "study" of "cyberporn".

Subdirectories in This Archive

Up to the Parent Directory

Foreign_and_local/

Directory of info on global, US state, and non-US anonymity & pseudonymity issues.

SLAPP/

Directory of information about "strategic lawsuits against public participation" (SLAPPs) - largely or entirely bogus cases (or other legal tactics) targeting underfunded critics, whistleblowers or competitors to expose and silence them. Includes cause of subpoena and discovery abuse to "out" anonymous critics.

Related On-Site Resources

McIntyre v. Ohio

1995 US Supreme Court decision reaffirming the First Amendment right of anonymous communication.

Digital_money/

Documents pertaining to electronic money transactions.

Digital_signature/

Documents pertaining to Digital Signature Standard (DSS) and security issues.

Freeh/Allen Senate Testimony

FBI Dir., Louis Freeh, and president of Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Ernest Allen, testifying before the Commerce, Justice and State Dept. Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, at a hearing on FBI efforts to catch child pornographers and molestors who use the Internet. Freeh reveals that FBI agents are paid to pretend to be 13-year-old girls in online chat rooms, and attacks online anonymity and privacy, saying that while the FBI should be able to hide its agents' identities while they pretend to be naughty pubescents, the rest of the world should be identifiable to law enforcement agents automatically. Freeh suggests mandating (or possibly allowing for voluntary implementation of) Internet Service Providers call-tracking all of their users, including with Caller-ID and permanent logging, so that police can immediately ID a suspect. Nevermind warrants or anything like due process. Yet another attempt by the FBI to wrangle new surveillance powers over the new medium. (Mar. 10, 1998)

Links to Related Off-Site Resources

The Cyphernomicon

A bulletized summary of all major online privacy and anonymity issues.

CommunityConnexion's "John Doe for Windows"

A Win3.x-based nymserver - protects identity in online interactions, including email.

CommunityConnexion's "Anonymizer"

A kind of firewall that allows you to browse the web anonymously