The cost of online anonymity
In the second report looking at privacy and the internet, Dan Simmons examines whether it is possible to be totally anonymous and asks if this is really a desirable thing.
In London's Speaker's Corner, the right to freedom of expressions has been practised by anyone who cares to turn up for centuries.
But in countries where free speech is not protected by the authorities, hiding your true identity is becoming big business.
Just as remailers act as a go-between for e-mail, so there are services through which you can surf the web anonymously.
After 10 years in the business, Anonymizer has two million active users. The US government pays it to promote the service in China and Iran in order to help promote free speech.
But these programs are becoming popular in the West too.
The software encrypts all your requests for webpages. Anonymizer's servers then automatically gather the content on your behalf and send it back to you.
No humans are involved and the company does not keep records of who requests what.
