Facebook Age and Anonymity: Civility vs. Freedom of Speech

The debate over anonymity on the Internet is heating up again. Courts increasingly encounter the question of when to order the unmasking of anonymous online speakers; websites grapple with whether to allow anonymous commenting or to push their users toward speaking under their real names; legislators contemplate kids’ privacy bills that could end up requiring every Internet user to identify themselves; and a spate of articles and opinion pieces this year have called for an end to anonymous Internet speech altogether.