China has issued new rules on social media users, forcing those who want to post political news to obtain prior approval and requiring anyone who uses instant messaging tools to first register with the government, using their real name.
The crackdown will impact nearly 400 million social media users of the country’s popular Tencent WeChat system, as well as millions of others who use different but similar chat apps, Reuters reported.
Accounts that haven’t yet been approved by the instant messaging service provider, which must abide the nation’s strict posting rules, are now banned from publishing or reposting political news, China’s official news agency reported.
Xinhua also reported that account users have to now sign an agreement vowing they will “comply with the law, the socialist system, the national interest, citizens’ legal rights, public order, social moral customs and authenticity of information.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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