Week 8-The confirmation

1. What is my thesis?
Internet anonymity should be protected.

2. What types of source am I using to defend my thesis?
I am using statistcs and surveys, prominent cases, as well as constitutions and legislations enacted by the government.

3. Are my arguments mostly based on evidence, logic or emotion?
My arguments are hardly based on emotion, as the following thesis requires a thorough analysis of the matter without any emotional appeals, so as to grasp a clear idea of what the thesis mainly concerns. Instead, hard evidences and logical thinking processes take up most of my essay.

My Confirmation

  Perhaps the first task to finding out how anonmity can interact in both physical world and the internet world be to correctly identify the characteristics of the cyber-world that differentiates it from the actual world of physical beings. The internet is not made up of things we could touch; it is constantly ever-shifting, and is never ruled by any physical laws that make our physical world true to touch and stimulus. Nothing is vritually impossible in the internet. As long as one has the correct knowledge and skills to alter the cyberspace, he can make absolute advantage of the internet, and manipulate the cyber-world to do his biddings. However, this does not apply to all of us who make use of the internet. Only a minority of the users are equipped with skills and capability needed to turn the internet world to their advantage. This leaves the rest, a myriad of internet users who have just enough skills to suf the web, purchase items through online shopping malls and transfer money into bank account through the web, completely vulnerable to various risks and threats that loom in the darkness of the intenet world, waiting to feed on unsuspecting users who are not capable of dealing with whatever challenges they face on the internet. In other words, the internet is just as large as, perhaps more vast and greater than the real world, but unlike in the latter, users of the former do not have a complete control of their surroundings, and their safety is also not guarnanteed. To them, internet is just like being out in the wild, full of surprises. Thus, a device that can somewhat help the users protect their information to some extent should be put up. Protecting the anonymity of the users can play this role, and ensure safer internet lives.
 
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, states that:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

  This is another example that shows why internet anonymity should be protected, in
regards to abiding to the basic rights of the internet users. As mentioned in the Declaration above, everyone is bestowed upon rights to freely exchange their thoughts and ideas. This right is guaranteed from their birth, and is not to be infringed upon till their death. This right also applies in the cyberspace, and now that the internet has become one of the most active grounds for exchanging opinions, the importance of granting freedom of seech to all the users is now strongly emphasized.
  One most typical, as well as effective, way of ensuring such rights on the internet is by allowing people to be anonymous on the web. With their names and personal information revealed disclosed, people will feel intimidated and fear that their ideas will be monitored, afraid that any opinions that are against the current trend might be traced back to them through their exposed information. This prevents the healthy flow o information. It is a well known fact that democracy depends on the citizens' active particpation into formation of national policies through discussions. With their identities exposed on the internet, no more conversation shall occur, and democracy might fall. It has also been historically proven that the goverment's call for more power and absolute control always began with their efforts to obstruct public opinions. The Soviet Union established perfect control through prohibiting discussions among people and promoting propogandas. A more recent example would be the NSA's attempt to have a constant look at all ongoing electronic communication under excuse of sorting out terrorists. By having people stay anonymous, internet usage shall increase, and active communication will be achieved.
 
  In 2013 June, a shocking news that over 23 million pieces of personal information was leaked into the hands of Chinese hackers rocked the entire Korean Peninsula. These personal information was traced back to 40 of the most prominent websites in Korea, including online bookstores and search engines. Only a year has passed since the implementation of the Personal Information Protection Law by the Korean congress, and the ineffectiveness of such legisaltions was again brought to light. This shows the possible prediction of what tradegy that might occur to billions of internet users worldwide. Without a proper measure to conceal their information, their secrets and private information is set to far higher risks of being commercialized on the market, put on sale secretly for others to freely view and abuse of whatever criminal activities they have in mind.  Implementing internet anonymity can help the users protect their secrets off the predators on the web, and prevent anymore information leaks that can be used to create fake IDs, used in various scams, and falsely set up into taking all the blames for something we have never commmitted. Internet anonymity is significant in such a way, and can be a valuable asset in protecting the users.