China Enforces Tougher Censorship Laws, Real Names Always Required Now

China has never been lax about internet control. It regularly monitors everything that goes online, censors many search terms and outright blocks plenty of websites, particularly foreign ones.

But if you thought that the changing landscape or the new leadership will bring a more enlightened view, think again, China is tightening up its internet laws.

One of the big changes is something China has been working on for quite a while now, making it mandatory for people to use their real names, or at least provide real identities for any site they use.

Microblogging sites, like Sina's Weibo, are hugely popular in China, particularly since they enable a freer information flow.

But authorities don't like anything less than free information, particularly after a string of corruption scandals that have rocked some of the Communist Party's top members.

In that vein, apart from the real-name requirement, sites are now also obligated to instantly stop the transmission of illegal information, i.e. delete offending posts or even chat messages. The data is to be kept and handed over to the authorities.