China is now forcing all public account owners on chat apps in the country to register with their true identities and obtain permission to disseminate news, as it engages a 10-point plan with the effort aimed at “further [promoting] the healthy and orderly development of public information services, [protecting] the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, and [safeguarding] national security and public interests.”
The plan is directed toward public accounts like TruTower‘s official WeChat account, which are typically owned by individuals or organizations that want to communicate on a large scale with followers for the purpose of promotions or news publishing. WeChat (Weixin in China) will be most affected by the new rules due to its high popularity, though other chat apps in the country will be feeling the effects as well.
“User experience is our priority and Tencent always endeavours to create a healthy and secure online environment for our users”
A Tencent spokesperson told Tech in Asia: “We respect related government policies in all markets that Tencent operates in. User experience is our priority and Tencent always endeavours to create a healthy and secure online environment for our users. We will take measures against offensive and abusive activities to ensure compliance with relevant regulations. We welcome users to report such incidents to us via online channels.”).
This news follows the blocking of LINE and the later blocking of KakaoTalk in the country, both of which were reportedly aimed at “avoiding confusion” though it was also apparently used as a way to combat terrorism.
WeChat has been expanding worldwide with its messaging service and gaming platform, the newest release of which is Thunder Raid on iOS and Android. Candy Crush Saga was also recently released on the app.