- cross-posted to:
- privacy@programming.dev
- cross-posted to:
- privacy@programming.dev
cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/59424100
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names.
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Which would be a nice idea, if it wasn’t for the fact that the second that this happens, nobody will be able to freely speak any truth at all, because governments will jump on it to restrict speech more and more and more and something tells me that fuckface McNazi knows this.
See what I did there? If I had to post under my real name, I would not have called him that.
Free speech depends on anonymity
Louis Rossman just did a video on this very topic. He had a hot take on it, but it’s about the double edged sword of Internet anonymity in his formative years.
Germany and Autoritarianism: name a more iconic duo.
the anglosphere and settler colonialism.
it’s so ubiquitous that most people don’t even notice it.
Good point!
Fuck you Merz
I wonder why such discussions are always framed as an all or nothing propositions. Zero knowledge systems are a decades old invention. Just very briefly: based on some ID a site issues cryptographycally signed tokens claiming some fact, e.g. the requester being an actual real person, adulthood, etc. Such a token could be presented by an otherwise anonymous user to a 2nd site with their own signature as proof of said property in order to consume their service. Tokens could even be single use.
A requirement to prove someone is, in fact, a human is not unreasonable. Banning bots or bad actors could be a solution to a lot of the problems on social media etc…
There is naturally a major shortcoming of this scheme, authoritarians could not track people…
That’s like everybody having to wear a name tag in public. Also, chilling effect.
NO.
Annonymity is what makes this all work. People forgetting that are the ones who screw it up.
Yes but it’s just your first name.
Merz is in his 70s. He is not the most gifted politician. One nickname given to him by a journalist is “the unavoidable” in reference to him having no good competition for leadership in his party after a perceived century of Angela Merkel in charge who had successfully sidelined him. For a reason, it seems.
He is very good at dropping shit like this in the media and then having it walked back or watered down. I do not see this idea getting a majority in the country where Google street view is useless because people rebelled against having the public facing side of their buildings photographed for easier navigation. And I can see a few arguments that would occupy the supreme court for a decade, were this to become law.
where Google street view is useless because people rebelled against having the public facing side of their buildings photographed for easier navigation.
Do elaborate.
Has people’s view of Street View changed since then or has the German desire for privacy evolved? My money is on the latter,
Or it’s that fish statistics analogy, newer generations don’t really feel their ancestors’ pains… but it’s too soon for that.
I propose that all politicians must have cameras installed and streamed 24/7 in any spaces they regularly occupy. This includes offices, private homes, and even bathrooms. These spaces must have enough cameras that there are no blind spots within the rooms. Let’s make every politician live in a very literal manifestation of 1984. Don’t want to have the whole world watch you take a crap? Don’t run for office.
As soon as any politician critisises this idea, tell them there is nothing to worry about if you have nothing to hide.
Merz criticized defenders of online anonymity, saying they are “often people who, from the shadows of anonymity, demand the greatest possible transparency from others.”
Dude is non-comprehending and very offended to hear it
I’d be fine if big tech social media would be required to use real names. That would reduce all the racism, misogyny, transphobia etc tremendously. It is obvious the big tech is not interested at all preventing any of that themselves. But let’s keep the rest of the internet out of it.
Have you been on social media? A lot of ppl acting up participating in racism, transphobia, hate speech etc. do not give a shit about protecting their identity. If the real name is not already on their profile, then their post makes them easily identifiable.
Also, there are enough laws out there that force social media providers to give out information about the users who do illegal stuff online. That would make almost everyone identifiable.
The reality is that law enforcment gives a shit about doing their job. And Social Media providers give a shit about actively protect users of those points, even tho they are obliged to in many jurisdictions.
I’m not so sure, a lot of the shit slinging (especially on Facebook) already has people’s real names attached to it. The worst of the worst are shameless anyway.
I think it’s time to cancel the internet.
The internet is dead its hollow corpse is a shitty mall and propaganda brainwashing machine.
the 90s internet was so much better. I want the 90d internet back. even if it did take a week to download a movie
The 90s internet is still here the web is just gone. Tildeverse, Gemini, BBS, Muds and IRC are still around. Its smaller but so was 90s internet but its still a lot of fun in the hidden corners of the net.
A Gemini reference in the wild!
I looked a couple years ago. Briefly toyed with it, made a page or two. I like the ethos, and am about 99% on board. I only wish it had inline images. I feel like that omission alone would greatly hurt its adoption and relegate it to not just niche, but super-ultra-niche.
UK: hey, could people who use VPNs please tell us who they are exactly so we know they’re not circumventing this other law? … No? Because excellent reasons? … Oh…
Merz: vee don’t like not knowing ze name of ze person who is calling us 1 Pimmel. it is vital vee know vat everybody is doing at all times on zis new sing, zis new land vee haff just discovered. because reasons.
Some governments (like Russia) have deployed behaviour (i.e. not just DPI) based VPN detection which reliably kills VPN sessions, however these are wrapped. I am currently not aware of a way to circumvent this. Presumably, this will require camouflaging as a user browser session.
Then don’t be 1 Pimmel, du Mikropimmel.
Ze German nation can no longer afford zis Lifestyle-Nichtpimmeling. Everybody vill need to pimmel 120 hours a week at least and until age 85 if vee vant to preserve our prosperity.
