Web anonymity battle starts anew

One of the Internet’s founding fathers is set to revive a heated cybersecurity debate over whether to preserve anonymity and the use of pseudonyms in online chat forums and social networks like Twitter.

Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist, is expected to make the case for keeping people’s identity anonymous — particularly on certain Web services — when he delivers the keynote address at the RSA cybersecurity conference. The theme of his address to the RSA cybersecurity conference was outlined in an abstract description released by conference organizers, and it stands out among the other technical-focused speeches planned for the event. Cerf’s keynote illustrates the growing importance of the debate over striking the right balance between the limits countries want to place on cyber aggressors and protecting people’s free speech and privacy rights online. Tension over the issue has been building for years between free speech advocates and those who say tougher steps are needed to boost cybersecurity on the Internet.