Beijing introduces real name registration for online services
New rules will require users signing up to blogs, instant messaging services, e-commerce sites and a host of other web portals with their real names. Online users must also observe new regulations on using words like "Obama" and "People's Daily", according to China's top internet watchdog.
China's web companies will be responsible for monitoring the content and enforcing the regulations. Top microblogging service Weibo has endorsed the new policy and also said it has already removed 293 accounts with "harmful names". WeChat, a popular instant messaging service owned by Tencent, has also shut down 133 accounts for "distorting history".
According to the state-backed China News Service "username chaos" has "polluted the Internet ecology, harmed the interests of the masses, and seriously damaged core values".
The new rules could impact products like Tencent's QQ messaging service and Baidu Inc's Tieba discussion forum. Weibo's microblogging platform, which is clogged with "zombie accounts" (duplicate or ficticious accounts will almost certainly see a drop in numbers.