Officials with the Internet Society of China (ISC) confirmed recently that China is planning to adopt a "real-name system" for some parts of the Internet. It is reported that the ISC has forwarded its study report on the real-name system for blogs to the Ministry of Information for comment.

The authorities believe that requiring bloggers to use their real names will benefit the healthy development of Internet blogs. The free development of blogs in the past few years has led to a chaotic situation. Some have used blogs to disrupt social order and have harmed the interests of the majority. A real-name system will safeguard freedom of speech and also guarantee the sound development of blogs.

According to the latest statistics from the China Internet Network Information Centre (CINIC), there are over 17.5 million bloggers in the country, while their audience reaches 75 million. Though some think that a real-name system will help purify the Internet environment, others think it will be tough to implement.

The real-name system requires bloggers to register their personal information. Many netizens are worried that this will restrict freedom of speech and harm individual privacy. But insiders pointed out that such worries stem from misinterpretation of the system.

Blogs are a relatively independent and free space for individuals and have become a label of fashion and individuality, an important window for expression. The number of people with a blog space has greatly increased in the past few months and the management of content via a real-name system has become an urgent issue.

Many worry that using real names goes against the open and free spirit of the Internet, but others think freedom of speech should always be responsible and that the system could still allow netizens to choose their own online names. Of course, respect for privacy is the basis and leakage of personal information should be punished severely.

Not long ago a blogger who posted his sexual exploits with Shanghai women aroused controversy on the Internet. The writer, "Chinabounder," on the Sex and Shanghai blog, claimed he was a British teacher in the city. Zhang Jiehai, a professor of psychology at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, launched a campaign to track down the author and expel him from the country on the basis of his blog. News agencies later reported that someone from the Sex and Shanghai site sent an e-mail response to a query about the blog, saying the author was actually a group of performance artists.

In fact as early as 2005 a blog-related lawsuit emerged associate professor Chen Tangfa from Nanjing University accused a blog company of having failed to properly deal with insulting comments about him that were spread by an anonymous blogger on the Internet. Chen won his lawsuit in August in what was the first blog infringement case to come into public view. Though the court ordered the company to post a formal apology, it is hard to punish the many anonymous bloggers who wantonly vent their anger while infringing upon others' rights on the Internet. And as slander cases involving blogs emerge in an unending flow, there are increasing calls for the implementation of a real-name system.

In the virtual world of the Internet, it is a thorny issue for infringement victims to preserve evidence. The infringers attack anonymously and it is only possible to track their temporary IP addresses. So there is a clear need to develop identification technology.

From another angle, though the real-name system can solve many problems, protecting the safety of the personal information of netizens remains a problem since the country is yet to work out its privacy protection law.

The real-name registration of millions of netizens will be a gigantic task. If an ID card registration mode were adopted, who would pay for the use of the ID card database?

What's more, the actual implementation of the system could be difficult. Whether blog companies strictly implement the system in their pursuit of maximum profits is doubtful.

But the real-name system is worth a try.

At present some netizens are fond of the cyber world just because they find a freedom of expression without restrictions or responsibilities. That is why they do not accept the real-name system. Some just want a personal space but have no intention of harming others, so there is no need to register their real names. But more bloggers want public attention, and more want to increase their hits and social influence. Thus the real-name system may be the self-disciplined choice for some netizens to prevent them from damaging their own images and gambling with their most precious resource.

It is worth mentioning that a bloggers' convention put together by blog companies, experts and netizens was publicized in May. It declares the responsibilities and obligations of bloggers as well as the codes of ethics and principles. Now many influential bloggers on www.sina.com.cn are using their real names. Real names have become something of a brand for sina blogs. Though the actual effects of the bloggers' convention are unknown now, it was a significant trial to promote real-name blogs.

Experts suggested a quasi-system be implemented now for bloggers to log on via a fixed IP address. At the same time the technology and legislation to protect information safety should be enhanced to make the blog real-name system for blogs a trial for the whole cyber world.

A pleasant bulletin board system and blog environment is good for people to exchange ideas and make friends. Requiring bloggers to register their real names is a positive step forward for the development of our online practices.

The author works with the judicial department of Jiangsu Province

Source: China Daily