Anonymous accounts are the engine behind online toxicity, disinformation and coordinated harassment — and the evidence is overwhelming. For just €300, foreign actors can manufacture thousands of fake interactions to manipulate public debate, and 72% of people who've experienced online abuse were targeted by anonymous or false accounts. Requiring identity verification is a proportionate, democratic fix that protects free expression without silencing anyone.
Banning online anonymity doesn't reduce abuse — Twitter's own data showed 99% of suspended abusive accounts weren't anonymous, meaning ID verification would've changed nothing. Whistleblowers, queer youth, activists and researchers depend on pseudonymity for their safety and sometimes their lives. Real-name policies are a lazy, evidence-free fix that punishes the most vulnerable people while doing nothing to address the root causes of online harm.
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