China’s Cyber Control Expands: Real Identity Mandate and Military Internet Limits
The Chinese government is now planning to impose even stricter restrictions on internet users. China leads the world in internet usage with 650 million internet users.
Shu Feng, the head of China’s Internet Surveillance Agency, has stated that Chinese internet users will now have to enter their real names to log into their accounts. Whether these accounts are for blogs, instant messaging, or microblogs, the real name must be provided.
According to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, under the rules set to take effect next month, users of the internet cannot use pseudonyms for foreign leaders, nor can they use explicit images as their profile pictures.
Furthermore, the Chinese military is not exempt from these restrictions. The influential Central Military Commission has also banned military officers from seeking jobs through blogging, online chatting, and mobile phones.
