some words on the subject from: infoshop.org/PA/internetworking.html
ANONYMOUS REMAILERS
One control mechanism (e.g., "safeguard") the authorities relied on was that if you sent something on the Internet, you could be found and held accountable. However, the existence of anonymous remailers threatened that, in allowing a person to post something covertly, and for them to be potentially untraceable.
Once more, phantom terrorists and drug dealers were conjured up as the justification for sacking remailers, in our interest again. Some noted remailer providers were sacked by some governments, and their records searched, in an effort to determine who were behind the anonymous accounts.
An effort was also put into play where anonymity was being used, to make it unseemly?again, the idea being if you weren't willing to stand behind you beliefs, that there's either something wrong with you, or something wrong with what you're espousing.
However, this overlooks the considerable attacks that governments of the world, particularly the US government, levies against activist groups. It's risky to be an activist in this type of "free" society?anonymity has its attractions.
Moreover, what's interesting is that government secrecy is seen as okay, whereas civilian secrecy is seen as criminal. The CIA continues to operate on a covert budget, under the aegis of national security. This is taken as normal and defensible, even though the CIA has a consistent track record of assassinations, violations of international law, coups, and wars under its collective belt. But if Joe Citizen desires secrecy, then he's a criminal, obviously, and must be watched more closely. It's a power trip inherent with all the authoritarians?they exempt themselves from the rules they impose on the rest of us.
