RISK T wo kinds of anonymous re-mailers have evolved to protect the privacy of users. Last year, in fact, authorities raided anon.penet.fi to look for the identity of a Church of Scientology dissident who had posted secret church papers on the Internet using the supposedly private service. Further protection can be obtained by using free, publicly available encryption programs such as Pretty Good Privacy and by chaining messages and re-mailers together. Some re-mailers will vary the timing of the outgoing mail, sending the messages out in random sequence in order to thwart attempts to trace mail back by linking it to when it was sent. A. Michael Froomkin, an assistant professor of law at the University of Miami and an expert on Internet legal issues, says anonymity allows people to practice political free speech without fear of retribution.
Whistleblowers can identify corporate or government abuse while reducing their risk of detection.
People with health problems that are embarrassing or might threaten their ability to get insurance can seek advice without concern that their names would be blasted electronically around the world. A battered woman can use re-mailers to communicate with friends without her spouse finding her. I would rather err on the side of those people. I would rather give the benefit of the doubt to human rights. Strassmann and Marlow, on the other hand, see the threat to national security as an overriding concern.