China Cracks Down on Messaging Apps - WSJ

China Cracks Down on Messaging Apps - WSJ New public accounts must register using real names and sign an agreement that they will "abide by laws and regulations, the socialist system, national interests, the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, public order, social morality and ensure the authenticity of the information they provide." The rules also said that only news organizations and authorized websites will be allowed to post or share political news. Accounts that violate the rules can be warned, restricted from posting content or removed.//No surprise, Wechat is where most of the action is now and, unlike with Weibo, the government has yet to seize its commanding heights. There is a lot of continuity between Internet management under Xi Jinping and the previous administration, although, as with many things, Xi is pushing harder and further than his predecessors did and has consolidated the regulatory powers under the Internet Security and Informatization Leading Group, with Lu Wei and SIIO taking point. This is something I wrote last September during the Weibo BigV crackdown, pointing out the consistency with the publicly released decision from the 6th plenum of the 17th party congress in October 2011. Beijing has been working for years on harnessing the Internet for its economic potential while mitigating the risks to the Party-State's control. So far they have succeeded far more than most ever expected in building an Internet with Chinese Characteristicshttp://online.wsj.com/articles/china-issues-new-restrictions-on-messaging-apps-1407405666?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c7d9504074-Sinocism08_07_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-c7d9504074-29615013&mc_cid=c7d9504074&mc_eid=5935182a65

China regulates instant messaging services - Xinhua The regulation aims at promoting the healthy development of the fast-growing instant messaging sector and safeguarding national security and public interests, according to the State Internet Information Office (SIIO) which passed the new rule on Thursday. Targeting China's 5.8 million public accounts on subscription-based mobile apps such as Tencent's mobile text and voice messaging service WeChat, the new regulation will take immediate effect. Registrants of public accounts are obliged to register with real names and reviewed by service providers before being qualified to release information. "A few people are using the platforms to disseminate information related to terrorism, violence and pornography as well as slander and rumors," said Jiang Jun, spokesman of the SIIO. "Such behaviors have raised bitter feelings among netizens."..Similar regulations were passed for China's microblogging service Sina Weibo in 2012. The Twitter-like service currently has more than 500 million registered users.// the new regulations: 授权发布：即时通信工具公众信息服务发展管理暂行规定