If the proposed real-name system is adopted, the decision on that issue will be taken out of the Internet users' hands.

The Internet Society of China (ISC), affiliated with the Ministry of Information Industry, is reportedly weighing regulations that would require users to submit their real names and identification card numbers to web operators when opening a blog or posting comments on bulletin boards. Users, however, would be allowed to post under pseudonyms.

The purpose of the "limited real name system" is, in the words of an ISC spokesman, to "balance personal privacy and public and national interests."

With 120 million users in China, the Internet has become a powerful platform for the spread of multiple opinions and information. But many new things are double-edged. The Internet can promote freedom of speech, but it may also provide a forum for information and activities that go against the law, such as slander.

The protection of privacy and other rights should not be a reason for excluding proper management in accordance with the law. Worldwide experiences indicate that both can be achieved.

Controversy arises over the question of what constitutes "proper management." Many people fear that management would go so far as to infringe upon people's rights.

Policy-makers, therefore, must ensure that people's rights are not damaged while imposing Internet regulation. Otherwise, regulation would easily be taken as a way to suppress free expression of opinions, a basic right the public enjoys.

Internet-related regulations will be better accepted if they come out after the government has fully solicited public opinion and undergone legal procedures.

Regarding the real-name arrangement, there must be clearly defined and applicable laws that prevent the identity information of Internet users from being leaked out and misused.

Such issues as which department should be held responsible for the security of such information and what liabilities it will shoulder must be clearly stipulated in the law.

If this cannot be ensured, it is better for policy-makers to think again before they launches the online real-name identity system in haste.

The tens of millions of Chinese netizens would not oppose proper management that will clean up the online environment and curb crime. They surf to share and communicate, and a clean online community is in the interest of all.

What they would doubt is a vaguely defined rule that may be badly interpreted and abused to encroach upon their legitimate rights.

Source: China Daily