Good thread on flaws with the regular "remove anonymity from social media" argument. We absolutely need better safeguards on social media, however removing anonymity isn't just impractical, it also risks quite a number of very dangerous negative effects. 1/
https://twitter.com/PeterRNeumann/status/1449673600466890752
We tend to look at the debate from our own positionality, which means we forget the impact on such calls in countries far more illiberal than in the UK, and have no mistake if we remove anonymity others will follow. 2/
That risks human rights activists, the LGBTQ+ community, victims of domestic violence, and so on and so on. It's also unlikely to make a drastic impact on abuse, just look at how many people who aren't anonymous engage in it. 3/
You can argue that the data wouldn't be shared beyond the platform, but let's be honest you can't guarantee that by a long chalk. There's no way to 100% guarantee the users privacy, and for a number of people that means putting their lives at risk. 4/
As I said though, we need better controls and that is on all of us. We need better reporting systems for abuse, and for people to report abuse. Most of all though we need a complete re-think about our relationship with social media. 5/
It's all too easy for people, anonymised or otherwise, to forget that they are talking to another human being. The screen acts as a block. We need better education and understanding of the real world harms online abuse causes and to ensure it is never seen as acceptable. 6/
And as it happens @robfordmancs sums up the ways to do this far better than, as per usual. 7/
https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1449696614642237441?t=Y1MUgeEQd7XgbDDHLBB1CQ&s=19
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