Why Facebook's Dangerous "Real Names" Policy Is Like the NRA and Guns
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/001130.html
This posting isn't about the monsters of the NRA, their minions, and
their blood-soaked hands. But it is about facing reality, not ignoring
data, and about harm caused to real people, especially those who are
already marginalized in our societies. As we'll see, in these respects
there is a disquieting parallel between Facebook and the National Rifle
Association, which once glimpsed can be very difficult to put out of
one's mind.
I've talked many times before about the dilemmas associated with social
media "real name" identity regimes, which attempt to require that users
be identified via their actual "real world" names rather than by
nicknames, pseudonyms, or in various anonymous or pseudo-anonymous
forms.
At present, Facebook is the globe's primary enforcer of a social media
"real names" ecosystem. And despite a mountain of evidence that this
policy does immense harm to individuals, they have held steadfastly to
this model. Google+ initially launched with a real names policy as well,
but one of Google's strengths is realizing when something isn't working
and then adjusting course as indicated -- and Google+ no longer requires
real names.
Facebook's intransigence though is reminiscent of -- oh, for example --
being faced with overwhelming evidence that as gun availability
increases gun violence increases, and then proposing even more guns as a
solution to gun violence.
Facebook can claim that real names don't hurt people, and the NRA can
claim that more guns are safer than less guns, but only sycophants will
buy such bull in either case.
The original ostensible justifications for real names requirements have
been pretty well shredded into tatters over the last few years.
It seemed pretty clear that Facebook has hoped all along to leverage a
"one name, real identity" model into Facebook becoming a kind of
universal identity hub, that users would broadly employ both online and
in many cases offline as well. Facebook's founder and CEO Mark
Zuckerberg famously said, "Having two identities for yourself is an
example of a lack of integrity." This view is a necessary component of
Facebook's ongoing hopes for real name monetization across the board.
Facebook's "universal identity" model thankfully hasn't really panned
out for them so far, but they certainly moved to try push their real
names methodology into other spheres nonetheless.
One obvious example is the Facebook commenting system, widely used on
third-party sites and requiring users to login with their Facebook (real
name) identities to post comments. A supposed rationale for this
requirement was to reduce comment trolling and other comment abuse.
However, it quickly became clear that Facebook "real name" comments are
a lose-lose proposition for everyone but Facebook.
There's no evidence that forcing people to post comments using their
real identities reduces comment abuse at all. In fact, many trolls revel
in the "honor" of their abusive trash being so identified.
Meanwhile, thoughtful users in sensitive situations have been unable to
post what could have been useful and informative comments since
Facebook's system insists on linking their work and personal postings to
the same publicly viewable identity, making it problematic to comment
negatively about an employer, or to admit that your child has HIV -- or
that you live a frequently stigmatized lifestyle, for example. In some
cases potentially life-threatening repercussions abound.
On top of all that, failures of these real name commenting systems give
major third-party firms a convenient excuse to terminate existing
comments completely across their sites, rather than making the effort to
moderate comments effectively.
And much like the NRA's data-ignoring propaganda, the deeper you go with
Facebook the more ludicrous everything gets.
Facebook's system for users to report other users for suspected
"identity violations" would seem not particularly out of place in old
East Germany under the Stasi - "Show us your papers!"
Users target other users with falsified account identity violation
claims, causing accounts to be closed until the targeted, innocent users
can jump through hoops to prove themselves "pure" again to Facebook's
identity gods. Many such impacted users are emotionally wrecked by this
kind of completely unnecessary and unjustifiable abuse.
There are other related issues as well. In a new public letter, a large
consortium of public interest groups are asking Facebook to change or
ideally end their real names policies, and have suggested that in some
parts of the world such policies may actually be illegal.
Yet this really isn't all about Facebook, even though Facebook is
unarguably the "800-pound gorilla" in the online identity room.
In a world where (for better or worse) our Internet access and content
increasingly funnels through a relative handful of large firms, and
governments around the world are rapidly embracing censorship, it's more
important than ever that individuals not be stuffed into "one size fits
all" identity regimes.
We must not permit online anonymity and pseudo-anonymity -- both crucial
aspects of legitimate free speech -- to become effectively banned or
criminalized.
Mistakes made in these policy realms today could significantly and
perhaps permanently ruin key aspects of the Internet going forward, and
these are matters that must be dealt with logically and based on data,
not emotions.
To do otherwise is basically like playing Russian roulette with the
potentially unlimited wonders of the Net itself. And while that might
enrich the gun merchants who don't care whose brains the bullets
splatter, for the rest of us it would be a very sad outcome indeed.
--Lauren--
I have consulted to Google, but I am not currently doing so.
All opinions expressed here are mine alone.
- - -
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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