Pseudonymity on the Internet
The right to pseudonymity on the Internet - just like the right to anonymity on the Internet - is intended to protect natural persons from violating their personal rights. It stands in the way of a compulsory real name.
purpose
Pseudonyms are intended to protect the personal area of Internet users, for example their private, family and professional areas. In particular, they can protect the real person from being disadvantaged based on their personal situation or from persecution based on political expressions of opinion.
Legal position
A basis for national legislation in the European Union is Directive 95/46 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 24, 1995 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of data.
In Germany, Section 13 (6 ) of the Telemedia Act (TMG) is one of the service provider's obligations :
"The service provider has to enable the use of telemedia and their payment anonymously or under a pseudonym, as far as this is technically possible and reasonable. The user is to be informed about this possibility. "
The user should be allowed to use a pseudonym in order to prevent that one can infer his true identity. A service provider may save certain data. The inventory data (§ 14 Paragraph 1 TMG) can include the name etc. of the user. To the usage data (§ 15 para. 1 TMG) is one of the pitch or screen name.
The service providers are subject to the imprint obligation . In the opinion of the German Federal Court of Justice, operators of opinion forums on the Internet are responsible.
Examples for dealing with pseudonyms
| service | Permission for pseudonyms | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Ebay | allowed | Pseudonyms are allowed. The provider knows the real name and address. |
| Amazon | allowed | Pseudonyms are allowed. The provider knows the real name and address. |
| allowed | Facebook changed its default settings in Germany in 2018 and is no longer allowed to force users to log in with their real names. The users are asked to use the name: "... with which they are most often addressed in everyday life". However, name changes are checked before activation and unusual names are filtered out. This practice is permissible because Facebook does not have a legally responsible branch in Germany. | |
| Google+ | allowed | Google urged, "Use the name that friends, family, and colleagues use to call you. This serves to combat spam and prevents falsified profiles. ”In July 2014, the message came that pseudonyms should be allowed. |
| Wikipedia | allowed | Wikipedia allows pseudonymous authors without insisting on their real name and address in the inventory data. |
| dating site | allowed | In general, pseudonyms are allowed, including at Plenty of Fish , JoyClub etc. |
When using the website of the State of Lower Saxony , one of the points of contention is whether users are also allowed to use anonymization services.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Debate about online identity: The network must allow anonymity. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , August 3, 2011 ( online ).
- ↑ Directive 95/46 / EC (Data Protection Directive) , OJ. EG No. L 281, p. 31.
- ↑ Bundestag printed paper 13/7385, 23.
- ^ BGH: Responsibility of the operator of an opinion forum on the Internet. Judgment of March 27, 2007, Az. VI ZR 101/06.
- ↑ OLG Düsseldorf, judgment of April 26, 2006, Az. 1-15 U 180/05 ( online ).
- ↑ Information on legal procedures for pseudonyms on the Internet at trollforum.de
- ↑ Internet. Real names are not required on Facebook. WELT-online February 13, 2018
- ↑ Facebook help page on the subject of pseudonymity
- ↑ A stage win for Facebook in the dispute over compulsory real names , Heise from February 15, 2013.
- ↑ Google+ content and behavior guidelines for users Section 13 ( online )
- ↑ Carolin Neumann: Netzwelt-Ticker: Google+ throws users out because of pseudonyms , Spiegel Online from July 15, 2011.
- ↑ Google abolishes mandatory use of real names for Google+ haz.de, Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, July 16, 2014, accessed August 19, 2020.
- ↑ The websites of the state of Lower Saxony block anonymization services , Internet Law of June 20, 2011.