will require individuals seeking to establish personal Web sites to
verify their identities with regulators and have their photographs
taken.
The order lifts a ban on registering personal sites
that was issued in December as part of a campaign to crack down on
Internet pornography.
To apply, an individual must visit his or her local
Internet service provider’s office, submit an identification card and
pose for a photograph. Applications will then be sent to the Ministry
of Industry and Information Technology for review.
The new requirements add another layer of oversight
in a country that is already deeply criticized for having some of the
world’s strictest Internet controls. Regulators have also discussed
requiring stricter identity verification to purchase mobile phones and
leave comments online.
Officials say the new rule is needed to stifle Internet porn.
“Internet security needs to be cured from its
roots,” Li Yizhong, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology, was quoted as saying in a state news article Sunday.
Critics say the new requirement has little to do
with pornography and instead serves to increase controls and discourage
Web users from engaging in any activity that challenged the government.
For all its complexity, experts say the key to the
government’s controls is not its filtering technology or registration
requirements, but the willingness of individuals to censor themselves.
“This new measure comes as no surprise, since a key
element of control has always been about how to use disciplinary
punishment and surveillance to create a self-censorship environment,”
said Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project at the
“The government feels increasingly insecure with their ability to
control the Internet, therefore more and more policies and controlling
practices are aimed at enhancing a self-policing environment.”
It’s unknown when the new law will take effect. The
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not reply to
requests for an interview.
The new requirement only applies to
domestic domain, known as .cn. Before the government moratorium in
December, individuals could establish their own Web addresses through
third-party Web sites such as Wanwang (www.net.cn),
a sort of Chinese GoDaddy.com. They did not have to submit a photograph
and, theoretically, could have provided false identification numbers.
Experts say many will now flock to servers overseas to establish Web
sites.
“Things will definitely be much more difficult now,” said
a Web master for an information technology site. “But people are just
going to turn to .com domains. If you’re not doing anything sensitive,
you don’t have to worry about getting blocked.”
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