Freedom of expression on the internet: the restrictive conception of anonymity and the option for minimal intervention

Abstract

This article debates the conception of “anonymity” in the Brazilian Constitution. Based on a research in the decisions of Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo (TJSP), the article argues that a broad conception of anonymity is legally wrong and harmful to freedom of expression, for three reasons. First, because it equates “anonymity” situations that are, at best, pseudonymity. Second, because such broad conception finds no parallel in analogous situations outside the internet. Third, because it ignores that “anonymity” often has legitimate purposes. Alternatively, the article proposes a narrow conception of anonymity: one that does not ignore the text of the Constitution, but neither disproportionately expands it to restrict freedom of expression on the Internet.