The Politics of Anonymity Poland's Media Discourse on Anonymous Communication Online Kornelia Trytko A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2016 This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights. 2 Abstract Online anonymity has been an important element in scholarly debates on the role of the internet in modern day democracy. Proponents of the right to anonymity argue that it helps secure users’ privacy, autonomy and freedom of speech. Critics, on the other hand, see the act of withdrawing identity information as a way to limit or avoid responsibility for one’s actions. Despite large amount of evidence that the role of anonymity on the internet is diverse and context sensitive, researchers have observed a unidirectional trend towards its limitation or even complete elimination. The process, which might be called de-anonymisation of online spaces, is influenced by what Lessig (2006) described as four main forces shaping internet’s architecture: law, technology, market and social norms. But it also features at the level of discourse, which so far has received very little academic attention. The meanings, values and power struggles underlying the debate on online anonymity have also been largely ignored in Central and Eastern European contexts. In order to close this gap, this study examines a case from Poland, in which an identity of an anonymous blogger was revealed by a mainstream newspaper. It also investigates the broader characteristics of the coverage of online anonymity in the Polish press. By employing content and discourse analyses, and drawing on the work of critical internet scholars, it offers first empirical evidence that newspapers in Poland can be agents of de-anonymisation. Specifically, the findings reveal the debate on online anonymity is characterised by four key conflicts: 1) a conflict over the status of journalists and internet users in online deliberation; 2) a conflict over the vision of the digital public sphere; 3) a conflict over Poland's democratisation process; and 4) a conflict of values underlying perceptions of online anonymity. 3 Acknowledgements When I started my research adventure, I had no idea how long and tumultuous the road will be. I did not realize how challenging it is to ‘theorize’ and ‘measure’ one’s own interests, to change one’s spontaneous inquisitiveness into a rigorous research procedure. My path began with an award of Nottingham Trent University Vice-Chancellor's PhD Scholarships, for which I am extremely grateful. In the past five years, my life has changed dramatically, mainly due to the amazing people who appeared on my way. I would like to thank my supervisors: Olga Guedes Bailey and Andreas Wittel for their mentoring and continuous encouragement. I also thank John Tomlinson, who set me on the right path at the early stages of my work, as well as Chris Farrands, who gave me enormous intellectual and emotional support, and whose warm words still hang over my desk. I’m also grateful to Kay Walters form the Graduate Office, who guided me through the labyrinth of formal procedures. My PhD adventure would not be nearly as exciting without all of my ‘brothers and sisters in arms’, with whom I engaged in endless discussions both at the university library and in local pubs: Agathe, Jane, Jemma, Laura, Zayneb, Sam, Gareth, Fergal, Ignas, Jason, Tony and the whole RPC team - thank you and I am sure you will rule the academic world. And you, my four soul sisters: Farah, Lidia, Jamile and Silvana. Your courage, persistence and openness to all that life brings have always been truly inspirational for me. I am also grateful to my family, especially my Mum, for the unconditional love and continuous support. And finally, I want to thank my husband Ido, who for the last five years was in a relationship with both me and my thesis, and complained about it admirably rarely. 4 Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 4 List of illustrations ................................................................................................................. 9 Tables ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Figures ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Images ..................................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1 | Introduction ................................................................................................ 11 1.1 Context and rationale for the study .................................................................................. 12 1.2 Study focus, aims and research questions ........................................................................ 15 1.3 Research design ................................................................................................................. 17 1.4 Research findings and claims to originality ....................................................................... 19 1.5 Study structure: an overview ............................................................................................ 20 CHAPTER 2 | Online anonymity in the democratic society ................................... 25 2. 1 What does it mean to be anonymous on the internet..................................................... 26 2.2 Levels of anonymity and disclosure .................................................................................. 27 2.3 Anonymity as a context-specific concept .......................................................................... 29 2.4 The novelty of online anonymity ...................................................................................... 32 2.5 Anonymity and democracy – an uneasy relationship ....................................................... 34 2.5.1 Anonymity in the context of control and surveillance ............................................... 36 2.5.2 Anonymous voices in the digital public sphere .......................................................... 42 2.6 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 49 CHAPTER 3 | The de-anonymisation process and the role of the media ......... 52 3.1 Towards an authentic ‘self’ ............................................................................................... 53 3.2 Forces working against online anonymity ......................................................................... 55 3.2.1 Online anonymity and the law ................................................................................... 56 3.2.2 Online anonymity and the market ............................................................................. 58 3.2.3 Online anonymity and the “code” .............................................................................. 59 3.2.4 Online anonymity and social norms ........................................................................... 60 5 3.3 The concept of de-anonymisation .................................................................................... 62 3.4 Online anonymity as a discursive construction ................................................................. 65 3.5 Online anonymity and the power of the media ................................................................ 66 3.5.1 Media and symbolic power ........................................................................................ 69 3.5.2 Media and control over access to the digital public sphere ...................................... 70 3.5.3 New challenges to the symbolic elites ....................................................................... 72 3.6 Conclusions........................................................................................................................ 75 CHAPTER 4 | Media and online anonymity in post-communist Poland ........... 77 4.1 Online anonymity and communist legacy ......................................................................... 78 4.1.1 A toxic legacy of surveillance ..................................................................................... 83 4.1.2 The legacy of anonymous resistance ......................................................................... 85 4.2 The transformation of the Polish media system after 1989 ............................................. 89 4.2.1 The democratisation process ..................................................................................... 90 4.2.2 The technological change ........................................................................................... 94 4.3 The place of online anonymity in the Polish public discourse .........................................