In the internet you sometimes come across strange names: on social networks, people have become famous as Dagi Bee, Paluten or Gronkh, just as some musicians or artists call themselves something different in public than their real names. As it says on your doorbell or in your passport. Most of them have their real names known, but not all. It can happen that others are really curious. British street artist Banksy, for example, has managed to remain unrecognized for many years.
Whether or not people are allowed to remain anonymous is a big question on the internet. A question that even occupies courts. One of the most important courts in Germany has just made a fundamental judgment for one of the most important, namely the largest social network in the world. The Federal Court of Justice has decided that people can participate on Facebook under a made-up name, a pseudonym, even if Facebook doesn’t want it.
The exciting thing about this is that both sides are actually concerned with the same thing. At least they say so. Because there is less hate and hatred there. Facebook emphasizes how important it is for people on this social network to share their real names. It is important for authenticity, says the company. The difficult word means something like authenticity or credibility. Facebook finds that people are somewhat careful not to spread lies and hate by using their real names. However, it has to be said: it doesn’t seem to work that well. Because how much hate and lies there is on Facebook is really bad. Although for years the company has required all users to have their profile with their real name.
After all, when people have to use their real names, it’s easier to intervene when things get too bad: when someone proudly spread the word that they’ve committed a crime, or say someone please do something to someone else. These are cases for the police and for the courts, and knowing people by name helps with the investigation. But it’s also much easier to find out where people live and work and how to do something about them if these people haven’t done anything at all. At least nothing forbidden.
A few days ago, a man found out from friends that he was believed to be a murderer. Another man had shot people in Heidelberg and killed a woman. Shortly thereafter, the name of a man who had nothing to do with it was circulated on the Internet as the perpetrator. This is a very bad example, there are many others. Sometimes all it takes is for people to publicly state what they think is good, what they think is right, or what they believe in, and they’re harassed or even threatened by other people who disagree. Sometimes it can even happen that people suddenly can’t feel safe with things they’ve been doing for years.
A law was passed in Hungary last summer that bans advertising for homosexuality. Now you have to ask: What is that supposed to be, advertising for the fact that some men love other men and some women love other women? If a couple in love posts holiday photos on Facebook and the two kiss in one of the photos, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. But in Hungary, couples in love, both men or both women, now have to ask themselves whether they are not unwittingly advertising homosexuality with such a photo and are therefore breaking a law. Suddenly people can be taken to court for doing something that used to be perfectly fine. So it’s no wonder that people want to protect themselves by not writing their real names at the same time.
The Federal Court of Justice here in Germany decided on Thursday that people can also participate on Facebook under a made-up name. However, with one restriction: This only applies to those who have been there for a long time and who registered before May 25, 2018. Since that day, a law has been in force in Germany that has been negotiated with other countries, the European General Data Protection Regulation. Previously, the Telemedia Act applied in Germany, and it stipulated that people could enter a pseudonym instead of their real name for Internet services if this was “technically possible and reasonable”. All the people who register with such services with strange names show that it is possible.
Unfortunately, the new European regulation does not clarify the issue of pseudonyms. Facebook now says the law by which the court ruled is outdated. One can only hope that this inaccuracy will one day be clarified in the General Data Protection Regulation. And that Facebook gets its own problems with lies, hate and hate speech under control without everyone having to reveal their real names.
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