Internet anonymity isn’t necessary to exercise citizen’s right to free speech  Even when we accept the theoretical principle of free speech, the past years have shown that internet anonymity is not necessary for citizens to exercise their right to free speech.  First, look at ‘access to the internet’ as a prime factor, regardless of whether it’s anonymous or not: In the case of the Arab spring, the causes of the unrest were increased oppression and a declining economic climate. [1] Internet access wasn’t that much of an enabling factor in the Arab Spring: the countries that saw the highest mobilization of citizens (Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen) actually rank lowest in internet penetration of all Arab countries. [2]  Secondly, let’s look at anonymity on the internet, provided that access is given: Again, the Arab Spring shows that anonymity isn’t a decisive factor at all. In Egypt and Tunisia, Facebook was a main vehicle to organize protests, [3] yet Facebook doesn’t allow anonymity – up to the extent that Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks called Facebook ‘the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented’. [4] All this shows that internet anonymity isn’t as crucial a factor in fostering political dissidence as its proponents like to believe.  [1] Foreign Common Wealth Office, ‘The Causes of the Arab Spring’. URL:   [2] Yale Global, ‘Three Myths About the Arab Uprisings’, July 24, 2012. URL:   [3] The National, ‘Facebook and Twitter key to Arab Spring uprisings: report’, June 6, 2011 URL:   [4] Cnet, ‘Assange: Facebook is an appaling spy machine’, May 3, 2011. URL: