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Comment by mlhpdx | Hacker News Reader

Don’t confuse privacy with anonymity. One is a right in the US, the other is not.

Not trying to be sarcastic; I may be unaware of some relevant legal framework for the US, could you please elaborate which one is a right and how is it enshrined and enforced?

Not American here, but I'm aware of both privacy in mixed forms (privacy act 1974, HIPAA, COPPA, and CCPA in California); as well as anonimity in First Amendment et al since there's case law (IANAL) demonstrating the requirement of anonimity to avoid persecution of free speech.

All of these have limitations and exceptions in a complex legal system. But to issue a blanket statement like the comment above is no really correct - just trying to make a point, I guess

Also not a lawyer but anonymity case law is a mixed bag to best, and more practically speaking very narrowly targeted compared to privacy.

Arguments for both are derived from, but not explicit in, the Bill of Rights. Privacy has broad points of support while anonymity is primarily attributed to the First Amendment, but only in narrow circumstances.

The only way to have privacy in a semi public location, like the Internet, is anonymity.

Ask any celebrity how much privacy they have. They can’t even buy Starbucks without people commenting on how fat their comfy clothes make them look. Because they have no anonymity.

But privacy in public in general isn’t a thing, right?

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