The Internet affords anonymity to its users, a blessing to privacy and freedom of speech. But that very anonymity is also behind the explosion of cyber-crime that has【C1】________across the Web.

Can privacy be preserved【C2】_____bringing safety and security to a world that seems increasingly【C3】_____?

Last month, Howard Schmidt, the nation’s cyber-czar, offered the federal government a【C4】_____to make the Web a safer place—a “voluntary trusted identity” system that would be the high-tech【C5】__of a physical key, a fingerprint and a photo ID card, all rolled【C6】__one. The system might use a smart identity card, or a digital credential【C7】_____to a specific computer, and would authenticate users at a range of online services.

The idea is to【C8】_____a federation of private online identity systems. Users could【C9】__which system to join, and only registered users whose identities have been authenticated could navigate those systems. The approach contrasts with one that would require an Internet driver’s license【C10】_____ by the government.

Google and Microsoft are among companies that already have these “single sign-on” systems that make it possible for users to【C11】________just once but use many different services.

【C12】_____, the approach would create a “walled garden” in cyberspace, with safe “neighborhoods” and bright “streetlights” to establish a sense of a【C13】_____community.

Mr. Schmidt described it as a “voluntary ecosystem” in which “individuals and organizations can complete online transactions with【C14】_____, trusting the identities of each other and the identities of the infrastructure【C15】_____which the transaction runs”.

Still, the administration’s plan has【C16】_____privacy rights activists. Some applaud the approach; others are concerned. It seems clear that such a scheme is an initiative push toward what would【C17】_____be a compulsory Internet “driver’s license” mentality.

The plan has also been greeted with【C18】_____by some computer security experts, who worry that the “voluntary ecosystem” envisioned by Mr. Schmidt would still leave much of the Internet【C19】__. They argue that all Internet users should be【C20】_____to register and identify themselves, in the same way that drivers must be licensed to drive on public roads.

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