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On Wednesday – Thursday, 23–24 September 2026, at 12:00–14:30 EDT (16:00–18:30 UTC) each day, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), in partnership with Stand Together Trust, hosts its annual Future of Speech Online conference, ‘The Death of Online Anonymity?‘.
The United States has long supported a culture of anonymity that fosters both the free exchange of controversial ideas and the protection of privacy, and globally, anonymity and the technologies that facilitate it have been critical protections for dissidents, journalists, LGBTQ+ communities, and anyone living under authoritarian governments or intimate partner violence.
That right has always been a qualified one, limited to accommodate legitimate interests in countering criminal activity, harassment, doxxing, and abuse — but the balance is now under mounting pressure from age assurance and digital ID mandates, government demands to unmask disfavoured accounts, and AI systems that make re-identification trivial while driving demand for ‘proof of personhood’.
DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2026
12:00–14:30 EDT (16:00–18:30 UTC)
12:00 – Welcome
Moderator: Kate Ruane – Director, Free Expression Project, CDT
12:10 – Keynote: Anonymity Online: Why Do We Need It? How Do We Protect It? What Are the Risks?
Alexandra Reeve Givens – CEO, CDT
13:00 – Age Verifying the Internet: The Wave of Age Verification and Assurance Requirements and Its Implications for the Anonymous Internet
Stan Adams – Lead Public Policy Specialist for North America, Wikimedia Foundation
Moderator: Aliya Bhatia – Senior Policy Analyst, Free Expression Project, CDT
13:45 – Generative AI and the Erosion of Anonymity
Tianshi Li – Assistant Professor, Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University
Neil Chilson – Head of AI Policy, Abundance Institute
DAY 2 – THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2026
12:00–14:30 EDT (16:00–18:30 UTC)
12:00 – Welcome
Speakers: To Be Announced.
12:05 – Government Demands to Undermine Anonymity
Speakers: To Be Announced
12:50 – Humanity and Anonymity
Renée DiResta – Associate Research Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University
Moderator: Becca Branum – Deputy Director, Free Expression Project, CDT
13:35 – The Sword and the Shield of Anonymity: How to Maximize Protections Offered by Anonymity While Mitigating Harm
Ashkhen Kazaryan – Senior Legal Fellow, The Future of Free Speech, Vanderbilt University
Belle Torek – Senior Technology Safety Specialist, Safety Net Project, NNEDV
Moderator: Kate Ruane – Director, Free Expression Project, CDT
14:15 – Lightning Talks
Speakers: To Be Announced
#FOSO26 #OnlineAnonymity #FreeExpression #AgeVerification