“By providing your common name, you will be assisting all people you know–friends, family members, classmates, co-workers, and other acquaintances–in finding and creating a connection with the the right person online.” This is how Katie Watson, a Google representative, explained ^[1] the company’s decision to disallow Google+ users from registering accounts under anything other than their real names, though they’re welcome to add “other names.” So, for instance, the hacker Geohot ^[2] would have to register under his real name George Holtz, though he’d be welcome to add his better-known handle as an extra.

That’s fine for Second Life denizens, pro wrestlers, and anyone else who wants to be recognized by a nickname. But what about political dissidents? Witness protection program members? Domestic violence victims?

The company that doesn’t want to be evil may have a struggle figuring out the right thing to do. Read more at CNET ^[3].