China l much harder to control Internet

China  passed a law by which citizens are required to register with their real names to access the Internet and other telecommunications services, a move some sectors interpreted as an attempt to muzzle the already  censored Chinese network. "Vendors will ask users to provide real-identifiable information when signing agreements to grant access to internet, landlines or mobile devices to allow users to publish information in the public domain, "says the resolution, which consists of 12 articles. As noted several official media during the week, in practice, the new rules will force the Chinese to present their ID when they sign such contracts. Although authorities justify the action aims to "ensure information security and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens", some users are behind a will to control the opinions , some critically and hitherto anonymous, Internet users. Under the new regulatory framework, in addition, the providers of these services " are required to immediately stop any illegal information once detected and take appropriate action , "including registration and subsequent disposal, adding that they can do" before inform the supervisory authorities ", which can also access the data. The document, approved by the National People's Assembly (ANP) after five days of meetings, does not specify what is considered "illegal information". A similar measure was tried in March to microblogs, social networks most successful in China, but has not actually been implemented and several users continue to write under pseudonyms. Besides citizens, the new law could affect far more businesses like Internet cafes , popular in China, if the new policies will take a more comprehensive control of their customers. Some of the dissident Chinese government could also accuse the new regulatory framework, as it is expected to be more difficult to use the net anonymously. Another point of law, however, says that the authorities " ensure the protection of information that can be used to determine the identity of a user "and explicitly prohibits these services providers" sell or provide such illegal "this information to others. "Violators can face penalties such as confiscation of illegal gains, revocation of licenses and the closure of websites , "says the document. While the authorities note that this procedure "is necessary to prevent false accusations" and already exists in several countries, many users consider this step as an attack on freedom of expression in a time when, for example, several cases of corruption have been unveiled by leaks journalists and citizens to Chinese forums and social networks. Although not yet know the exact consequences of the adoption of the law or behave in practice, it appears that the Chinese government censor arm-popularly called "The Great Cibermuralla" - is tightening its policies . And you are seeing this, for example, companies offering VPN (virtual private network, for its acronym in English), used by dissidents or foreign journalists to enter blocked websites in China, some services in recent weeks have left to function normally. Internet users in China have to deal with an extensive system of censorship, especially in politically sensitive issues such as human rights, while sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are inaccessible without VPN .