Anonymity Worldwide

This chapter explores the state of anonymity across the world. It starts with the United States, which places a high value on offline and online anonymity. The contrast of anonymity between the United States and other countries lies in their attempts to enact real-name laws or legal requirements for people to use their names when posting content on the Internet. China has an extensive history of imposing real-name mandates while Brazil bans anonymity. Russia enacts a bloggers law that requires bloggers to sign with the nation's media oversight agency, and Iran mandates internet users to register IP addresses. The chapter tackles how Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdom highlight the importance of privacy over free speech. It also explains that the United State does not have an applicable nationwide privacy law even though numerous US states have passed their respective privacy laws.