Legal issues related to privacy and anonymity in mobile objects communications

In today society of information, personal data are collected, exchanged and manipulated at a great speed, and in a variety of manners, challenging the attempt of the individual to manage her/his own information. While it is generally recognised that current technologies potentially reduce the privacy of the individual, when compared to the level of privacy enjoyed in the past, it is as well acknowledged that electronic devices can also be used as means for preserving privacy (PPT) or may at least implement features that encompass legitimate expectations of privacy (“privacy by design” approach, which is the current trend fostered by the EU). A good balance instrument to ensure privacy while not impeding the circulation of information is the recourse to anonymity. To work properly (e.g. for the advantage of the individual), anonymity must be to some extent controllable by the individual. Moving from such considerations, this paper briefly analyses the legal notion of anonymity and the necessity to grant the individual with a degree of self-deciding power over it. Finally it shortly mention the INSIEME project, funded by University of Bologna and planned and organized by Giusella Finocchiaro with other professors of this University, which represents a concrete attempt at designing an ICT product embedding privacy and control of the anonymity.