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China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

thediplomat.com

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Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#41

Post by dEnigma »

the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #28
neya wrote: post #5

There are a dozen popular live streaming apps in China where one can simply just stream what you're doing to everyone on the site and people can just watch them for hours. You can think of it like Instagram stories or Snapchat per se. Or even Facebook live. This isn't some western media propaganda. I tried one of them very recently (I don't want to give them any undeserved marketing), they allowed me to sign up and t…

> Only the Chinese government can get away with something unbelievable like these regulations Many countries do. To watch certain youtube videos in south korea you need to provide your social security number or something like that.

Interesting. Is that supposed to restrict access to adult content? Do porn sites also ask for the social security number?

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#42

Post by lsjdfkljdfwkwdf »

the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #28
neya wrote: post #5

There are a dozen popular live streaming apps in China where one can simply just stream what you're doing to everyone on the site and people can just watch them for hours. You can think of it like Instagram stories or Snapchat per se. Or even Facebook live. This isn't some western media propaganda. I tried one of them very recently (I don't want to give them any undeserved marketing), they allowed me to sign up and t…

> Only the Chinese government can get away with something unbelievable like these regulations Many countries do. To watch certain youtube videos in south korea you need to provide your social security number or something like that.

South Korea implemented ID requirement for online posts under the disguise of stopping hate speech. How far is US left wing from demanding something similar?

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#43

Post by dEnigma »

paradite wrote: post #15
neya wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To have an email, you still need a mobile phone number to register for gmail (the most popular choice). > but then you again can also get IDs and fake passports easily in China if you want. I agree to a certain extent that your passport is indirectly linked to these online services. Where I don't agree is that you can still use an email service that doesn't require you to provide your phone numbers and you can use…

To not use real names on Facebook seems to be a violation of ToS as well, and you still need to verify real names in order to use pseudonym: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook_real-name_policy_cont...

Still, it's not a criminal offense to violate TOS. Worst case your account gets deactivated.

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#44

Post by lsjdfkljdfwkwdf »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #32
paradite wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To create a facebook account, you need either mobile phone number or email. To have an email, you still need a mobile phone number to register for gmail (the most popular choice). To have a mobile phone number, you need your passport or ID. Yes, in some cases you can get phone numbers without passport, but then again you can also get IDs and fake passports easily in China if you want.

"you can also get IDs and fake passports easily in China if you want" I've lived in China for 7 years, and your statement surprised me. Care to share more information to support this claim? I'm genuinely curious.

His is full of shit. Fake ID rarely works in China anymore since the ID scanners become networked, not only used by police but also hotels/public transit etc.

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#45

Post by chairmanwow »

I'm frightened by how a seemingly pragmatic government has been able to spiral into dogmatic, protectionists policies so rapidly. I suppose that I mistook the recent decades of economic development as evidence of true ideological reform taking place. Now I feel naive for expecting more from the government that imprisoned the father of their ubiquitous high speed rail system.

The Eastern desire to require "harmonious thoughts" is so at odds with the skepticism required to birth true innovations. I was once convinced that China was on the verge of becoming a new force in modern technology. But after seeing a long line of regulations meant to increase the echo of their political echo chamber, I doubt technological innovation can linger much longer.

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#46

Post by Elect2 »

Anyone interested in how to get identified? You need to download an app (or a built-in feature in an app), it open your camera, you need to make it focus your head. And then you need do what the speakers(a bot) tell you to do: "Shake your head. Good!", "Blink your eyes. Good!", "Open your mouth. Good!", "...", Then your videos will be uploaded for review.

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#47

Post by quicklime »

paradite wrote: post #8
neya wrote: post #5

There are a dozen popular live streaming apps in China where one can simply just stream what you're doing to everyone on the site and people can just watch them for hours. You can think of it like Instagram stories or Snapchat per se. Or even Facebook live. This isn't some western media propaganda. I tried one of them very recently (I don't want to give them any undeserved marketing), they allowed me to sign up and t…

To create a facebook account, you need either mobile phone number or email. To have an email, you still need a mobile phone number to register for gmail (the most popular choice). To have a mobile phone number, you need your passport or ID. Yes, in some cases you can get phone numbers without passport, but then again you can also get IDs and fake passports easily in China if you want.

According to https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1733224?hl=en a mobile phone number is optional when signing up for Gmail.

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#48

Post by yorwba »

socratewasright wrote: post #23

It's not that bad I believe. With the way PR companies and political parties are using astroturfing/bots to influence public opinion, asking for identification is one way of making sure the person participating in an online discussion is real. It also safeguards against online foreign influence. Additionally, I think anonymity tends to bring the worst in us. Perhaps it is because we feel less pressured by social norm…

I'm pretty sure the Chinese government will give its astroturfers a free pass on the identity requirements. And the social norms that pressure people when they are not anonymous include not making the government look bad.

While anonymity-enforcing environments can be useful when users have the freedom to choose, as soon as they become mandatory under an authoritarian regime, they turn into a strong silencer against all dissent.

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#49

Post by paradite »

SCHiM wrote: post #35

Leaving aside subjective judgments if doing this is right/wrong, good/in-line with the Chinese culture or whatever else. If you view the societal/political cohesion/consensus as a process of behavioral survival of the fittest (eg. requiring a certain flexibility to adapt) then taking away the flexibility that anonymous online communication affords your citizens might not be so good when/if it becomes time for the sys…

You make some very interesting points on flexibility and the ability to adapt. I also wonder how China is able to keep adapting to circumstances and survive if the voice of people is not heard.

But then I realize China has a different system to allow that to happen. In modern China, the only way for politicians to go up the ladder of leadership is to slowly rise from the bottom.

In this sense, they were once a normal citizen as well, and through working closely with the local community in the early political career, they should have a good understanding of the impact of policies on average citizen.

The fact that China is still strong in terms of economics despite being one-party is largely due to the economic reform pushed by the highest leadership Deng Xiaoping.

Re: China's New Wave of Internet Censorship: Name Verification for Online Commenting

#50

Post by paradite »

quicklime wrote: post #47
paradite wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To create a facebook account, you need either mobile phone number or email. To have an email, you still need a mobile phone number to register for gmail (the most popular choice). To have a mobile phone number, you need your passport or ID. Yes, in some cases you can get phone numbers without passport, but then again you can also get IDs and fake passports easily in China if you want.

According to https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1733224?hl=en a mobile phone number is optional when signing up for Gmail.

You are right. Many bad assumptions were made by me today.
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