Following the call for more internet supervision by state-run People’s Daily newspaper last week, Xinhua news reported on December 24, 2012 that the Chinese government is considering a new law requiring real-name registration for its 500 million internet users.

According to Xinhua, the legislation would “safeguard” Internet users from defamation and fraud. Li Fei, deputy director of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, said:

Such identity management could be conducted backstage, allowing users to use different names when publicizing information.

Although Chinese microblogging service Sina Weibo was required to introduce real-name registration earlier this year, implementation has been bogged down because of technical difficulties. Now the government is taking it to legislation, which could have a major impact on China’s social networking services such as Weibo which supports over 400 million registered users. While some netizens think it’s necessary to regulate the fast growing Internet service in China to protect personal information and avoid fraud, many worry that the move is just another way to further restrict freedom of speech.

Lawyer concerns

Liao Rui, a lawyer based in China's Sichuan province said on Weibo:

廖睿：该议案提出者的直接动因， 是近来微博等网络媒体上络绎不绝的反腐败举报。 恳请全国人大常委，在审议此议案时， 如有涉及限制宪法规定的公民言论自由权利的违宪条款时， 能严肃对待，以对国家、民族负责任的态度，投下你自己一票！