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All assertions in your thread and replies must be supported by Reading & Study materials, good examples, thoughtful analysis, and at least 2 scholarly resources. There must also be an appropriate incorporation of Judeo-Christian worldview/analysis and biblical principles. All sources must be cited in current APA format. Anonymity is more important than ever for everyone.
In the 21st century people are forced to deal with a digital presence in addition to our spiritual and physical lives. Our society is ruled by unscrupulous business, corrupt governments, and amoral people that are more interested in exploiting what you do online than respecting boundaries. Corporations are only concerned with data mining your behaviors and patterns. Anonymity protects individuals against digital criminals who want to exploit your machine, or use ransomware to make you pay to have your photographs. It's more important than ever that people are allowed anonymity online.
Corporations aren't concerned with an individual person's right to privacy. They only want to know every site you visit and what you look at. For example, if someone decides they want to look at pornographic images, then the automatic marketing machines of corporations which have no real morals will produce more pornographic materials. This only empowers the sinner to sin more. The book of James discusses this, "Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:15, New International Version)" If the user was afforded anonymity for this poor choice, it would only be a single poor choice.
This collection of data that shows the user's actions and behaviors allows the user to perpetuate poor choices. Anonymity is also important for individuals to express their opinion. My prolife opinion has not been popular over the years. I must be extremely careful to ensure that my beliefs don't contrast with an employer who may not share my beliefs.
I could be penalized for this opinion. What if the government suddenly decides to build a registry of those who are prolife or Christian and decide we are a threat to society? It happened in the 1950s. It could happen again. The traditional banking model touts privacy by limiting access to information, both to the parties involved and the trusted third party. Financial institutions strive to protect customers' information by keeping public keys anonymous.
A public key is essentially an encryption key, when combined with a private key, that is used to encrypt messages and digital signatures effectively. For instance, a bank may see that someone is sending a specific amount of money to someone else, but encryption keys prevent individuals and institutions from linking any one person's transaction to another. Encryption effectively hides transactions between two people just as cash does (Wilson).
Why would my banking institution need to who I'm paying or how much? There is no shortage of reasons why anonymity is important to people in the digital age. It's necessary to protect individuals from the corrupt ways of modern society.
Bibliography -------------------------- Rigby, K. (n.d.).
Anonymity on the Internet Must be Protected. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from
https://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/student-papers/fall95-papers/rigby-anonymity.html
Wilson, D. (2017, March 20). The Dilemma of Anonymous Digital Financial Transactions. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from
https://www.law.utah.edu/the-dilemma-of-anonymous-digital-financial-transactions/
Each reply must be at least 250 words