>Banning anonymous social media accounts is not the answer to online abuse
Entirely true, but it is also not the reason for the push to de-anonymise (and de-pseudonymise) the internet. It is merely the pretext. The true reason is to make it impossible to speak your mind without fear of retribution. The democratisation of the public discourse haunts and frightens the ruling classes to their bones. The broad dissemination of information and opinions was firmly in the hands of a feudalistic elite until just a few decades ago. The fact that the masses are no more just bonded serfs in the information ecology has finally firmly arrived in the minds of the feudal lords and they are pushing back to preserve their powers to guide public opinion by interpretation ex cathedra. Strap in firmly everybody, we are about to enter stormy waters - the enlightenment 2.0 is afoot, methinks!
Entirely true, but it is also not the reason for the push to de-anonymise (and de-pseudonymise) the internet. It is merely the pretext. The true reason is to make it impossible to speak your mind without fear of retribution. The democratisation of the public discourse haunts and frightens the ruling classes to their bones. The broad dissemination of information and opinions was firmly in the hands of a feudalistic elite until just a few decades ago. The fact that the masses are no more just bonded serfs in the information ecology has finally firmly arrived in the minds of the feudal lords and they are pushing back to preserve their powers to guide public opinion by interpretation ex cathedra. Strap in firmly everybody, we are about to enter stormy waters - the enlightenment 2.0 is afoot, methinks!