Internet users will have to register with real names and deletion of 'illegal' information is to be legalised
China has unveiled tighter internet controls, requiring web users to register their names and legalising the deletion of posts or pages which are considered to contain illegal information.
The rules signal that the new leadership, headed by Communist party chief, Xi Jinping, will continue to muzzle the online chatter in a country where the internet offers a rare opportunity for debate.
China's legislature approved the internet measures at a closing meeting of a five-day session.
Real-name registration will curtail the web's status as a freewheeling forum to complain, often anonymously, about corruption and official abuses.
The government says the latest regulation is aimed at protecting web users' personal information and cracking down on abuses, such as junk email.
The measure will "ensure internet information security, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal entities or other organisations, and safeguard national security and social public interests", the official Xinhua news agency cited the regulation as stating.
The restrictions follow a series of corruption scandals among lower-level officials exposed by internet users, something the government has said it is trying to encourage.
Li Fei, deputy head of parliament's legislative affairs committee, said the rules did not mean people needed to worry about being unable to report corruption online. But he added a warning.
"When people exercise their rights, including the right to use the internet, they must do so in accordance with the law and constitution, and not harm the legal rights of the state, society … or other citizens," he told a news conference.
The measure would require network service providers to ask users to provide their real names and other identifying information to allow users to post information publicly or when signing agreements for access to the internet, fixed telephone lines or mobile phones, Xinhua said. Earlier this year, the government began forcing users of Sina's popular Weibo microblogging platform to register their real names.
Beijing promotes internet use for business and education purposes, but bans material deemed subversive or obscene and blocks access to many websites.
The main Communist party newspaper, the People's Daily, has in recent weeks called for tighter internet controls, saying that rumours spread online have harmed the public. In one case, it said stories about a chemical plant explosion resulted in the deaths of four people in a car accident as they fled the area.
Until recently, web users could post comments online or on microblog services without leaving their names, giving Chinese people an opportunity to express themselves to a public audience in a society where newspapers, television and other media are state-controlled. The internet has also given the public an unusual opportunity to publicise accusations of official misconduct.
A local party official in south-west China was sacked in November after scenes from a videotape of him having sex with a young woman spread quickly on the internet. Screenshots were uploaded by a former journalist in Beijing, Zhu Ruifeng, to his Hong Kong website, which highlights corruption allegations
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