Paul A. Bernal (University of East Anglia (UEA) – Norwich Law
School: Twitter: @PaulbernalUK and website
:http://www.paulbernal.co.uk/) has posted a working paper
entitled, “The Right to Online Identity”. Here’s the abstract:
If people have a right to internet access then should they have
a right to an online identity? This paper will suggest that such
a right should exist – and will look at the form that it might
take, how it might be brought into practice, and what the
implications of such a right might be in terms of the form and
functions of the internet in the future. In particular, it will
be suggested that the right to identity has three components:
the right to create an online identity, the right to assert that
online identity, and the right to protect that online identity.
Online identity needs to be looked on as something more complex
than a matter of authentication of a link from an online actor
to a real person – online identities are complex, multifaceted
and constantly developing, and with both