By Eran Ben-ari

Usually when we think of anonymity on the internet, we don’t see its civic advantages. Our immediate reaction is rather negative probably because every now and then, we hear about another case of criminal exploitation of online anonymity. You can probably recall a case of ‘sara12’ who was actually a 65-year-old pedophile named John, trying to abuse innocent young girls in a popular chat room. Even when you are looking for love in online dating websites such as JDate, we face a basic question: are the people behind the nicknames and photos really who they say they are, or claim to be?

However, in a closer look anonymity in the internet world seems far more complex. In fact, it might ensure protection to some surfers who fight to promote democratic ideas rather than breaking criminal law. For example, for dissidents in countries like China and other non-democratic regimes, the ability to use “anonymizer” software such as Freenet, guarantees open channels to the world to report violations of human rights. In these instances, online anonymity actually promotes democratic values by exposing totalitarian regimes to international pressure.

It is fascinating to see how the internet and social media in particular take a leading role in igniting, coordinating and publicizing public protest. To note a recent case, in Iran’s last elections Twitter was the most salient mode of communication among protesters against the regime. Explaining why this new media medium is so suited for mass protest, Time magazine reporter, Lev Grossman noted that: “tweets go out over two networks, the Internet and SMS, the network that cell phones use for text messages, and they can be received and read on practically anything with a screen and a network connection. This makes Twitter practically ideal for a mass protest movement, both very easy for the average citizen to use and very hard for any central authority to control.”

The sad side about it that this case is that protesters did not use online anonymity techniques to protect their personal offline identities. As a result, as much as Twitter did help to coordinate the protests at the beginning of the events, and even enabled their expansion in the streets of Tehran by providing exclusive real time footage, soon the amateur reporters were arrested and information ceased to be broadcast live from the midst of the clashes. But anonymity is not only a blessing for prosecuted minorities in non-democratic regimes.

In a very interesting way, online anonymity coincides with a very old way of giving in Jewish tradition. The Rabbis placed giving charity in secret (‘Matan Baseter’) as the noblest form of philanthropy. It is not only that the benefactor is not exposed to the giver and therefore does not feel ashamed when receiving the gift; it is also that the giver gains nothing apart from the benefit of a pure act of giving. To illustrate this last point let me share with you the development of corporate giving schemes since 1950’s, also known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Part of the consideration in developing CSR is whether these policies have a positive impact on economic revenues. Even though there is no clear answer to this question, the assumption is that with efficient PR, CSR can help build a positive company reputation which can later translate into better economic performance. In other words, giving was never seen more as a form of investment than it is today.

When we meet with new organizations or with NPOs already on the JGooders site, we tell them that some of the donations made to their projects are made by donors who wish to remain anonymous. Online fundraising, and especially giving portals such as JGooders, enable users to give to their favored projects without exposing their contact information to organizations. In this way, they can protect themselves from any further direct communication with the organization, but also permits them to follow the old path of giving charity in secret (‘Matan Baseter’) – the noblest form of philanthropy.

Tags: anonymity, anonymous donation, CSR, donation, giving, Iran, online anonymity

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