Opinion | Why internet anonymity is not the menace you think it is

On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog,” is as true now as it was when Peter Steiner made a cartoon about it in 1993. The world of internet provides a perception of anonymity. In the wake of several cases of cyberbullying involving death threats, trolls and violent responses capable of creating religious and social strife, there have been demands from several quarters to pierce this veil of anonymity.

In Plato’s Republic, there is the tale of the ‘Ring of Gyges’. Once you put the ring on, you’re invisible and anonymous. Plato asked whether those who put on the ring will be civil and moral. He did not think so. What are the ramifications of the ring of Gyges we all wear on the internet?