to what extent does online anonymity exist?

In a forum, members of the presidential majority demand an end to anonymity on social networks. If it is today possible to find the identity of a person via their IP address, this search becomes more complicated when using a VPN.

Internet, the place of all possibilities where everything is permitted? Here is the idea accredited and denounced, Sunday March 24, by Paul Midy, Renaissance deputy for Essonne, in La Tribune Sunday. With 125 other members of the majority, he signed a forum where the parliamentarians affirmed “that we must not allow anonymity vis-à-vis the police or justice authorities, when we commit a serious offense or crime” and campaign for “the end of total anonymity on social networks”.

Paul Midy is the rapporteur of the bill to secure and protect the digital space, on which the joint committee reached an agreement on Thursday. He had clarified his argument Monday, on the set of “Télématin”. He explained in particular that “95% of French people feel anonymous on social networks”, which generates, “a feeling of impunity”, And partly causes the spread of hate speech on social networks. According to the law, it is possible to find a person who expresses themselves anonymously, or under a pseudonym, on the platforms. But in reality, what is it?

Judicial procedures necessary for identification

As soon as a user connects to the internet, he or she is potentially identifiable. “It is possible to trace a person’s identity via their IP address [protocole internet]“, assures Antoine Cheron, lawyer in intellectual property law, interviewed by franceinfo. This unique identification number is assigned to each device connected to a computer network, such as wifi. However, it remains necessary to initiate a legal process to obtain the data. “Internet service providers hold users’ personal information associated with their IP address, including for example users’ billing and subscription details,” adds Antoine Cheron.

The authorities are the only ones who can force them to share this information. Article L-34-1 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code requires operators to provide the IP address if it is requested in the context of criminal proceedings. “Trials were held using these techniques,” notes Thomas Boudier, lawyer in digital law. The 28 defendants in Magali Berdah’s cyberstalking trial were, for example, found using their IP address.

Since the entry into force of the European Digital Service Act on February 17, 2024, online platforms whose users are in the European Union must also collaborate with police services “to share information about the author of illegal content”, explains Antoine Cheron. Insulting, hateful, discriminatory remarks, relating to cyberharassment, or activities relating to child crime, are therefore concerned. The police can access the IP addresses of Internet users if they have committed an offense punishable by more than one year in prison, which is the case of cyberstalking, as the service-public.fr site points out.

Once the procedure has been started, there are several scenarios. According to Paul Midy, 50% of the population is easily found.

“If you live alone at home, you own the house, and you connect with a computer on the wifi network to which you subscribe, this is the ideal scenario.”

Paul Midy, rapporteur of the bill to secure and protect the digital space

at franceinfo

For the other 50%, the people are, according to the MP, difficult to identify, or even impossible to find. “Theoretically, anonymity is not possible, but someone who wants to be anonymous on the internet can remain anonymous”confirms Thomas Boudier.

“VPNs are a way to do this,” he explains. Virtual Private Networks, often paid for, allow the device used to be linked to an IP address other than the one actually used. Furthermore, some of them do not cooperate with the authorities during their investigations. This is particularly the case for NordVPN, one of the most used in France. “We do not respond favorably to requests asking us for information about our users since we have no records concerning them”, entrusts the company to franceinfo.

“Each user leaves traces”

However, NordVPN assures us: “There is no such thing as a completely anonymous VPN”. Even using this tool, an Internet user can share personal data through their cookies (the collection of data on user preferences) by major platforms like Google and Facebook. Contacted, the Pharos platform, the official French portal for reporting illegal content on the web, recalls that “no one is strictly anonymous on the internet. Each user leaves digital traces”.

The bill carried by MP Paul Midy aims to impose a unique identification number for Internet users while allowing them to create several profiles under a pseudonym. They will thus be easily identifiable by the authorities and will only leave “traces” of their passage online.

Another’s brakes can, however, pose a problem in the search for suspects. “Many victims do not file complaints. They fear that the procedures do not come to fruition, so this limits the research”, quotes Paul Midy. Antoine Cheron, for his part, explains that if the victim decides to file a complaint, “some members of law enforcement may lack awareness and adequate training on recognizing, investigating, and handling cases of cyberharassment”.