Pseudonym as a social media shield

"Stick and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

Those phrases may no longer ring true because in this modern age, a digital word can hurt you more than you think.

While the Internet offers many conveniences, it also enables a new breed of attack through online media that can cause mental, physical and even economic harm. With fake news, slanders and cancellations occurring on a daily basis, there is now a need for protection from such attacks.

As the Internet is a lawless space, making a naive appeal to people to look past gender or race or to not slander or discriminate online is proven to not work for so many reasons. Relying on the tech giants to enforce censorship is both not effective due to the enormous volume of attacks and morally problematic because handing the power of regulating speech to these platforms is equal to giving them the power to determine what is right and what is wrong.

A real identity on the Internet reveals a massive amount of personal information; an exposed name is equal to an exposed occupation, locations, social circle, even tax status and other sensitive information. Attackers could also target family members, friends and social circles, causing collateral damage. Internet adage Brandolini's Law states that, “The amount of energy needed to refute slander is an order of magnitude larger than to produce it." It means that an attack on your social media means an attack on your whole social network, irrespective of whether the said attack is true or not.

This social media vulnerability ends up discouraging people from expressing opinions that are not in line with the mainstream view, suppressing raw, real thoughts out of fear of being cancelled by the online mobs. It is not surprising that we now have phenomena like Finsta where people use a fake Instagram account to express their real thoughts instead of using their real account - a fake self under real identity and a real self under a fake identity.

Enter Pseudonymous Identity as an alternative.

What is Pseudonymous Identity

First, we need to differentiate pseudonymity from anonymity. While both offer a layer of protection from online character assassinations, anonymous identity is not long-lasting, has no history and accountability and is often used as a throwaway identity. On the contrary, a pseudonymous identity maintains a consistent branding and reputation, such as a Twitter or Reddit account with an avatar and alias.

Pseudonymity is not meant for illicit criminal activities. When a pseudonymous identity is suspected of wrongdoings, information of the account owner is accessible to law enforcers through a proper protocol. While Indonesian law does not consider pseudonymous identity illegal, any criminal activity performed under a pseudonymous identity is subject to the ITE Law - Section VII. During the 2019 general elections, several social media account handlers were arrested by the cybercrime authority - not for using pseudonymous accounts, but for performing criminal activities, such as spreading fake news and slanders, using pseudonymous accounts.

Pseudonymity allows everyone to choose an identity that serves a purpose; chosen rather than given. Balaji Srinivasan, former CTO of Coinbase and supporter of pseudonymous economy, gave an example of three separate online identity stacks: one for personal, one for earning/working and one for speaking (pseudonym). The three identities should be buffered sufficiently so as not to risk correlations and collateral damage.

The layer of pseudonymity can be picked and selected to suit our purpose. A well-designed pseudonymous identity should at least maintain a profile, avatar, ideas, product, experience, history and record. Things like physique, personal history, employment, political view, religion, race and education are completely optional, allowing the individual to have control over their identity.

It’s becoming More Relevant

Pseudonyms are not something new; throughout history, pseudonymity has been used to protect ideas.

An early example is Dutchmen Eduard Douwes Dekker. Upon witnessing the injustices done to the indigenous people of Java, he published a book titled "Max Havelaar" under a pseudonym Multatuli (from Latin: multa tuli "I have suffered much"), reporting the brutalities done by the Dutch military forces. The book shocked European society which, at that time, were still largely unaware of the atrocities of the Dutch trading companies in the Far East.

Another example is Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym used by the founder of Bitcoin. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, he proposed an alternative currency governed not by a central entity, but by people through an encrypted decentralised ledger technology. If Nakamoto published Bitcoin under his real name, much of the attacks would be directed at his personal identity. Also, there will be risks of intimidation and harm to suppress the idea.

Thanks to him using a pseudonym, the discussion and attention were directed to the technology and application of Bitcoin. With Nakamoto at the helm, the crypto ecosystem has fully embraced the pseudonym culture; it is not uncommon to see De-fi or crypto products with a pseudonymous founder using a frog or an iceberg as an avatar.

A more contemporary example is the Indonesian Twitter gossip account Lambe Turah. Appearing out of nowhere, the account kicks up a storm by spilling the behind-the-scenes of the Indonesian celebrities' circle. Often accurate, a tweet from the account has more credibility and engagement than a TV-produced infotainment show. In the entertainment industry, a new generation of pseudonymous streamers called virtual YouTubers is thriving. Instead of their real face, they use anime-styled avatars with a motion tracker setup to engage their viewers.

With technology, pseudonymity can be further augmented. A pseudonymous identity can now have a permanent virtual address for constant communication channels. For employment, the increasingly remote nature of work opens a job opportunity for pseudonymous identity to carry out new types of work. When a face-to-face interaction via virtual calls is required, a pseudonymous identity can simply utilise technology, such as filters and VR technology to change their face and voice.

Becoming "Uncancellable"

While freedom of speech is a right offered virtually everywhere, pseudonymity offers freedom after speech. Opponents have to attack your idea; they can’t attack you. This forces the discussion towards the idea instead of personal identity.

In this age, an action as simple as sharing a political article can have unforeseen repercussions, from getting kicked out from your social groups to more severe consequences, such as losing your friends, jobs, or sponsors. However, if you share it using a pseudonymous account, you are practically immune. The pseudonymous account can be flooded with all sorts of negative attacks, but the real person behind the account walks away unscathed, making them "uncancellable".

Ultimately, pseudonym identity is only a tool that can be used both for positive and negative purposes. The ethical and moral dilemma of a pseudonymous identity is still actively explored and the consequences constantly debated.

However, as every individual is constantly exposed to the increased risk of online attacks and data leaks, the idea of having an additional layer of protection through pseudonymity makes more and more sense.