An internet anonymity ban is being considered – looks like it's almost VPN o'clock

People’s ability to anonymously say whatever they want online is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you can look at literally any YouTube video, Instagram post, or other piece of content with a substantial number of views, and you’ll find anonymous users saying the most hateful and disgusting things. It’s practically impossible to be a PC gamer without encountering this. But I still think it’s important that people have access to that level of anonymity (hence why I champion VPNs so much), and news about upcoming changes to internet privacy has me concerned.

The update comes from Greece’s Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, who believes that much of the toxicity on the internet stems from people being able to post anonymously. I get where he’s coming from – after all, many people become radicalised through the internet, so banning people’s ability to use it anonymously seems like an easy way to solve the problem.

Unfortunately, as with any “easy” solution to a complex issue, I don’t think banning internet anonymity is going to really solve anything, but it will create problems of its own. With many hateful attitudes expressed openly on the world stage, I think people are increasingly feeling empowered to be nasty online, even without anonymity. Think of the many exploitative influencers who have made a career out of being nasty to vulnerable groups. These are deep wellsprings of toxic attitudes, and despite not hiding their identity, these influencers are not worried about sharing false information or saying horrible, hostile things.

Meanwhile, there are lots of very legitimate reasons that somebody might want to protect their anonymity online. For instance, imagine the children of bigoted parents who want to connect with the LGBTQ+ community online, but can’t put their name on it in case those parents find out and turn them out of the house. Also you need only turn to Reddit to find people asking for advice about abusive partners who need the support and encouragement of online communities to finally end these relationships – I don’t think anyone is going to feel comfortable talking about their spouse’s awful behaviour in a non-anonymized way.

It’s also worth noting, of course, that the internet is a global community. If Greece takes away its citizens’ online privacy, most other countries will still have it. I get the whole “be the change you want to see in the world” aspect and everything, but I also don’t want to live in a world where nobody can have privacy online. I want to live in a world where education systems properly equip people with critical thinking and empathetic skills, and where fair internet moderation is properly run and managed.

Anyway, even if internet anonymity is vanquished in Greece, the best VPN services will continue to give people an avenue for privacy. We have tested NordVPN, Proton VPN, Surfshark, CyberGhost, and ExpressVPN, and would recommend any one of them (though Nord is the top choice). While some may fear a VPN ban too, their encryption is essential in several professional contexts, so I don’t think this is particularly likely anytime soon.