Fwd: Real-Name Registration Threatens the Lively World of China's Microblogs

[Wendy Seltzer]

Seems relevant to our WHOIS validation/verification concerns:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [ NNSquad ] Real-Name Registration Threatens the Lively World
of China's Microblogs
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:52:14 -0700
From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren at vortex.com>
To: nnsquad at nnsquad.org


Real-Name Registration Threatens the Lively World of China's Microblogs

http://j.mp/zOfthe  (Wired)

   "And all this may change in the face of a new, more stringent policy
    designed to clamp down on free expression where other methods have
    been less successful. In a move to exert greater control on citizen
    speech online, the government is requiring that Sina Weibo and China's
    other microblogs register the real names and identification cards of
    users in several cities. Those who do not register this week in many
    major cities like Beijing will not be allowed to share or forward
    posts; after a period of testing, the policy will go into effect
    nationwide."

 - - -

Keep in mind that this article isn't describing a system where users
are required to use names that merely look "real," this is a
requirement tying usage to actual government IDs. A whole different
kettle of fish.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren at vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance:
http://www.gctip.org
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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