Posted on 02/04/2015 8:31:29 PM PST by BenLurkin
To eliminate fake social media accounts that impersonate public figures, the Chinese government has issued new rules that go much further and outlaw anonymity in blogs, social networks, discussion forums and IM services.
The move, announced Wednesday, is the latest in a recent string of Chinese government actions that have increased online censorship in the country.
To justify the new rules, the government said that fake accounts have been used to impersonate real groups or well-known people to damage society. In some cases, the fake accounts have been set up to impersonate Chinese government departments and mislead the public, or to pretend to be media organizations and release fake news, according to China’s top Internet regulator.
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To ban the fake accounts, China has issued new regulations that require Internet users give their real name when registering on certain sites. These include blogs, Twitter-like services known as weibo, instant messaging tools, forums, and the comment sections to Internet services. The new rules, which don’t apply to email accounts, appear to be retroactive.
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In recent months, the government has been steadily increasing censorship in the country, with the blocking of more foreign Internet sites, and late last year, a ban on wordplay and pun use in the media.
Prior to Wednesday’s regulations, China had been working to rein in controversial content on online comment sections. In previous years, it’s also demanded that when users sign up for mobile phone service, or register with Twitter-like sites in the country, that they first provide real ID information.
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...
I hope that Free Republic doesn’t adopt this policy requiring use of real names. I don’t want to see every single one of my posts tagged with my name — Wun Hung Low.
Coming soon to the US... It’s already been urged by
various DC figures (one internet ID for all actions).
And thereafter, self-censorship in the extreme...
(less criticism of government, etc.)
which is precisely the goal.
How does that change anything? Many people share the same name...bet they will require more than the name. I think all countries are going to try and do this. That will certainly put a burr under the saddle of young people. They start jacking with the net and it will be a hornets nest from Hades.
Was in China a month ago, was unable (banned) to use google icluding gmail, twitter, facebook. FR did work in China.
We have ( or had ) a number of Chinese Freepers.
They arrived in a small wave on the site after the huge earthquake a number of years ago.
One of the men, a young artist, still posts from time to time. He would upload new drawings ( was very talented ) and never popped off about communism or such. Just a very friendly person.
He had quite a little ping list and a number of folks were very friendly toward him and encouraged his work and visits. Some were not, however. Some were just flat out rude.
I have not seen him post in a long time. The others are long gone.
I recall seeing him post a few months back.
Enquiring socialist minds want to know.
Commissar Hu Yu Hai Ding
Be happy they don’t make us post our picture wearing a Speedo
Exemptions for government apparatchniks who are employed to promote Red China by infiltrating boards like this one. I remember one intense exchange I had with “Cecil Rhodes Rides Again”, who somehow figured that since I was against MFN status for red China, that I was for the Rape of Nanking. He was banned.
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