Millions of China's tweeters 'silenced by real names decree'

Chinese micro-blogging phenomenon Sina Weibo has warned that new government rules mandating the use of real names on social networks could silence at least 40 per cent of the site’s punters. The firm announced decent financials on Monday in line with analyst expectations, but dampened the mood by forecasting a poor start to …

[Muckminded]

Will the real WeiLee173488901

please report to your local prefecture for your new iPad?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Will the real WeiLee173488901

I am WeiLee173488901.

[Anonymous Coward]

No, I'm WeiLee173488901, and so's my wife

[Gene Cash]

So it has come to this

China is going all Google+ now?

[JDX]

A network where people might think before posting would be quite refreshing though!

[Anonymous Coward]

Mainly, they'll think about how to post as someone else.

[Nights_are_Long]

@ Gene Cash, Looks like some one has been reading XKCD.

[Graham Marsden]

Listening to rumours...

... is Treasonous, Citizen!

(Mine's the Ultraviolet security clearance one...)

[LaeMing]

Re: Listening to rumours...

Random ID check citizen.

Tongue tattoos out! Now!

[nexsphil]

Didn't this idea come from the US?

So China's lagging the States in the totalitarian stakes now. At least in trying. Can't be too long before this little delight is resurrected there as an anti-piracy/paedophile/communist/terrorist/witch measure.

[Anonymous Coward]

China (as Hong Kong) was in at the start

HK was a partner in the 1990s inter national law enforcement training seminar (I L E T S) which although supposedly FBI and police was discovered using US FOI laws to be No Such and other Agencies* in meetings in London. This hardworking international group basically set all the standards which are applicable for massive totalitarian style analysis of data; hopefully the data will be used to solve a few crimes as well from time to time.

*http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/ic2000/ic2000.htm

[Lord Midas]

Judges

It won't be long before they have Judges patrolling the streets, rather than police.

"Satorical retweet, 6 months in the cubes, creep"

"New ipad screen resolution rumours? 1 year on Devil's Island, perp!"

[Anonymous Coward]

Maternal/Paternal Lineage Extinction Ratios

This Real Names of Chinese folks relates to 'The Inevitable Eve' observation. Very short version: Due to PLER, about 10% of all Chinese share the surname 'Chang' (obviously the Chinese version of what is spelled 'Chang' using our alphabet). It's their Smith. So all Chinese should register as 'John Chang nnnn'.

Canada is going the same way. Bill C30 would allow *any* government agent to demand one's meat-ID information from the service provider *without even so much as a warrant*. Their position is that your ID is not private. In fact, sometimes the ID is the point.

[Fibbles]

Newsflash!

PRC not keen on Chinese whispers