TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: China Moves Toward "Real Name System" on Web

China Moves Toward "Real Name System" on Web

Reuters News Wire (reuters@telecom-digest.org)
Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:19:46 -0500

China moves toward "real name system" for blogs.

The Internet Society of China has recommended to the government that
bloggers be required to use their real names when they register blogs,
state media said on Monday, in the latest attempt to regulate
free-wheeling Web content.

The society, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Information
Industry, said no decision had been made but that a 'real name system'
was inevitable.

"A real name system will be an unavoidable choice if China wants to
standardize and develop its blog industry," the official Xinhua news
agency quoted the Internet Society's secretary general, Huang
Chengqing, as saying.

"We suggest, in a recent report submitted to the ministry, that a real
name system be implemented in China's blog industry," Huang said.

China has already imposed some controls on Internet chatter about
politically sensitive subjects, which often goes far beyond what is
permissible in the country's traditional state-run media.

Last year, the Ministry of Information Industry issued regulations on
Internet news content that analysts said was aimed at extending rules
governing licensed news outlets to blogs and Internet-only news sites.

Participation in university on-line discussion groups has also been
restricted to students.

Bloggers anonymously disseminating untrue information on the Internet
brought about a negative influence on society, the Xinhua report said.

Under the proposed rule, users would be required to register under
their real name to open a blog but would still be allowed to write
under a pseudonym.

Copyright 2006 Reuters

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