A now-famous cartoon from the New Yorker magazine shows a friendly looking pooch seated at a computer terminal, a smug look on his face as he says something like, "The nice thing is, on the Internet nobody knows you're a dog."
Anonymity is available for most Internet users today. In our increasingly digital society, that raises a variety of questions.
Recently, police in Helsinki struck at the heart of Internet anonymity, seizing electronic records from a computer specifically designed to mask the identity of people sending electronic mail and moving files through the the global network. Acting on the request of California police and the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology, Finish police forced a private computer consultant to hand over information they said might identify an Internet user who allegedly stole files from the church's computer last month.
Will the files enable authorities to put the electronic finger on the culprit? Sophisticatted computer users are skeptical, generally believing that clever users can find ways to hide their identity.
The Helsinki computer in this case as operating as an "anonymity server," especially designed to strip off originating identification and remail electronic messages -- the digital equivalent of dropping a plain white envelope in the mailbox with no return address.
That doesn't seem so criminal. But in combination with the Internet's vast reach, an anonymous remailer could almost instantly distribute stolen property to tens of thousands of recipients. The same goes for libelous or otherwise prohibited material. Powerful encryption codes can allow computer communica- tions to take place far from observation more prosaic activities might face.
The dangers in such cases are considerable. In addition, electronic faceless-
ness can rob the digital village of any real sense of trust or community.
Divorcing words and actions from individuals detaches them from accountability.
As we extend our reach through the empowering technologies of computers and
communications, a great deal of new law may have to be written to negotiate
between them.
Sacramento Bee (editorial)