Real names the rule in Beijing
By Xu Chi |
February 8, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BEIJING microbloggers will be banned from posting or reposting messages if they haven't registered with their real names by March 16, officials in the capital said yesterday.
On December 16 last year the city required new microbloggers to register using their real names and the move was soon adopted in other major cities, including Shanghai, in what the authorities said was a bid to purge online rumors and enhance credibility.
Now, existing microbloggers in Beijing who fail to register using their real names by March 16 will only be able to view messages on microblogging platforms.
After that date, unregistered microbloggers who try to post messages will have them intercepted and stopped, officials with the Beijing Network Management Office told the Beijing Evening News yesterday.
So far, the new rule only applies to Beijing. Shanghai network management officials said they were not aware of the latest edict.
China's major microblogging platforms are already encouraging users to register with their real names.
Some platforms are even offering lottery prizes, which include prepaid mobile phone cards or gift coupons, as a reward.
On Weibo.com, new users have been required to provide their names and ID numbers during registration since January 1. Anyone registering with false information is banned from posting or reposting.
A total of 3 million new users have registered with their real names since the beginning of the year, Weibo officials said.
The new rule in Beijing sparked controversy online with some people saying they wanted to be able to speak freely on the Internet without anyone knowing their identity.
"Everything I have written on the microblog is words of my innermost thoughts and feelings, which I don't want to show to people who know me well," a microblogger called "Burnout" said. "The real name registration will inevitably put my secrets at risk of being exposed, and I will have to delete the account."
Another said: "I will certainly be more careful of what I say."
Under the real name regulation, users are banned from posting and duplicating illegal content, including information that leaks state secrets, damages national security and interests, and instigates ethnic resentment, discrimination or illegal rallies that disrupt social order.
On December 16 last year the city required new microbloggers to register using their real names and the move was soon adopted in other major cities, including Shanghai, in what the authorities said was a bid to purge online rumors and enhance credibility.
Now, existing microbloggers in Beijing who fail to register using their real names by March 16 will only be able to view messages on microblogging platforms.
After that date, unregistered microbloggers who try to post messages will have them intercepted and stopped, officials with the Beijing Network Management Office told the Beijing Evening News yesterday.
So far, the new rule only applies to Beijing. Shanghai network management officials said they were not aware of the latest edict.
China's major microblogging platforms are already encouraging users to register with their real names.
Some platforms are even offering lottery prizes, which include prepaid mobile phone cards or gift coupons, as a reward.
On Weibo.com, new users have been required to provide their names and ID numbers during registration since January 1. Anyone registering with false information is banned from posting or reposting.
A total of 3 million new users have registered with their real names since the beginning of the year, Weibo officials said.
The new rule in Beijing sparked controversy online with some people saying they wanted to be able to speak freely on the Internet without anyone knowing their identity.
"Everything I have written on the microblog is words of my innermost thoughts and feelings, which I don't want to show to people who know me well," a microblogger called "Burnout" said. "The real name registration will inevitably put my secrets at risk of being exposed, and I will have to delete the account."
Another said: "I will certainly be more careful of what I say."
Under the real name regulation, users are banned from posting and duplicating illegal content, including information that leaks state secrets, damages national security and interests, and instigates ethnic resentment, discrimination or illegal rallies that disrupt social order.
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