New Chinese order asks netizens to shun anonymity

Internet censorship nightmares continue in China as the authorities have issued new rules asking netizens to register with their real names if they want to post comments online.

Though they can take pseudonyms, those names will still be tied to their real names, The Verge reported on Monday.

This is not for the first time though that the Chinese authorities have asked the people to register with their real names. Over the past three years, they made several attempts to enforce this at various levels but were unsuccessful.

"This time, however, the difference is that internet companies and service providers are being made responsible for ensuring users stay fully identified. Companies and service providers are also required to report any illegal content they see on any platform to the government," the report noted.

Despite the Chinese authorities imposing stringent rules to censor the internet, netizens manage to skirt the rules and bypass the country's great firewall.

The use of VPNs is prevalent in China to bypass firewall. However, the authorities banned several VPN services in July to strengthen its grip on internet usage.

Apple, citing the country's regulations, removed several VPN apps from the iTunes store in China.

--IANS

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