REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Back in the 1990s, computer geeks half-jokingly referred to the Internet as “The Net of a Million Lies.”
The anonymity it offered meant users could pretend to be anyone, and could say anything.
“On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog,” as the famous New Yorker cartoon put it.
Online anonymity today isn’t what it once was. But this weekend we learned how extensive — and how damaging — the Net of a Million Lies remains.
While users of X (formerly Twitter) are allowed to use anonymous handles and write their own personal descriptions, the company’s servers are privy to key details about every account holder.
Ordinarily the service doesn’t police what you say about yourself.
