⊿ Point. {R} Glossary. ◢ Keyword: A. ◥ University. {q} PhD. {tr} Training. ⚫ UK. ↂ EndNote. ☝️ Weerakkody. Anonymity. Situation in which a person is non-identifiable, unreachable, or untrackable Anonymity[a] describes situations where the acting person's identity is unknown. Anonymity may be created unintentionally through the loss of identifying information due to the passage of time or a destructive event, or intentionally if a person chooses to withhold their identity. Some writers have argued that the term "namelessness", though technically correct, does not capture what is more centrally at stake in contexts of anonymity. The important idea here is that a person be non-identifiable, unreachable, or untrackable.[1] Anonymity is also seen as a way to realize certain other values, such as privacy or liberty.
An important example of anonymity being not only protected, but enforced, by law is in voting in free elections. Criminals might proceed anonymously to conceal their participation in a crime. The term "anonymous message" typically refers to a message that does not reveal its sender. [edit] As A. Anonymisation. What is anonymisation? Anonymisation is the process of turning data into a form which does not identify individuals and where identification is not likely to take place. This allows for a much wider use of the information. The Data Protection Act controls how organisations use ‘personal data’ – that is, information which allows individuals to be identified. Organisations are increasingly reliant on anonymisation techniques to enable wider use of personal data. The code of practice explains the issues surrounding the anonymisation of personal data, and the disclosure of data once it has been anonymised. We've also produced a summary of the code (pdf) and a summary of the points raised during the consultation on the draft code (pdf).
Here's the ICO's Iain Bourne talking about the code. And over on our blog the ICO's Head of Policy Steve Wood talks about anonymisation - opportunities and risks. Anonymisation network UK Anonymisation Network (UKAN) website.