Social Pseudonymity

Pseudonymity is a growing issue of importance, particularly when it comes to social media. Many activists who rely on social media platforms to organize action and share pictures or video prefer to operate under the cover of a pseudonym in order to add a layer of protection to their activities. While Twitter does enable its users to maintain a pseudonym, Facebook and Google + require their users to register for accounts using real names, a policy that has received a lot of criticism particularly when prominent digital activists have their accounts deactivated, which subsequently sparked a broader dialogue on the issue.

Enter social networking platforms that offer pseudonymity. Platforms like Diaspora, Crabgrass, GNUSocial, and many others (some of which have been well-known in the tech community for some time) have gained more attention for their recognition of privacy concerns. One obstacle in adopting these platforms for organizing in restrictive environments is that their user base is much smaller when compared to platforms like Facebook.

Development of tools and techniques to protect identity without forsaking the large user base of popular social networking tools are on the rise. Some of these include ObscuraCam (from the Guardian Project and WITNESS), which can anonymize photos and videos, and the SaferMobile resource from MobileActive.

Here at NDI, we recognize that there is not one approach to safeguarding user identity, and stress the importance of applying a multi-layered strategy to maintain privacy and security. We strive to ensure that users are aware of any risks they might face and seek to achieve safety first before implementing a project.