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Internet users should have to disclose their identity, assuming it were possible.

While there are arguable some benefits to the idea of transparency on the internet, the moral and practical harms this could cause mean that the anonymity the internet provides must be upheld. The main reasons for this are that it contradicts with the key principle of privacy, and that people don't just want anonymity for bad reasons. Firstly, lets consider why privacy and anonymity are important. Privacy stems from the key principle that people should be allowed to do anything, provided it doesn't affect others. Now your average person isn't necessary trying to use internet anonymity for bad reasons, but would prefer that their real name wasn't attached to what they do. This is their personal preference for their own comfort, and as it isn't harming anyone else, they should be allowed to keep it. If everyone on the internet knew the real identities of everyone else on the internet, people would feel less comfortable acting online if their real name was attached, because even if they do nothing wrong their real identities can be traced, which can in itself lead to undesirable consequences such as stalking or targeting of these individuals both online and offline. As such, basic privacy and anonymity for the average user is not an issue, and would in fact be more harmful if it was withdrawn, so internet anonymity should remain. Secondly, people who deliberately try to act anonymously do not always do so for bad reasons. Its very easy to argue that all these people are terrorists, sneaking around invisibly, but this really isn't the case. What about people that are doing things where their identity should seriously remain anonymous? Activities ranging from pornography to suicide prevention hinge upon the user's real identity not being disclosed, but harm the users who are exposed with no benefit to any other party. Because of both of the above reasons, internet anonymity not only does no harm for the vast majority, but can actually hurt even more when it is taken away. As a result, internet identities must not be disclosed.