Weibo Will Make Its Most Popular Users Identify Themselves - The Messenger
It's time to break the news.The Messenger's slogan

Weibo, a Chinese Social Media Giant, Will Force Its Most Popular Accounts to Reveal Their Identities

Weibo's CEO said the policy will apply to users with over one million followers and who comment on topics including politics, finance and entertainment

Weibo is one of China’s most popular social platforms with over 500 million users.Chesnot/Getty Images

Weibo, one of China’s most popular social media platforms, will make its most popular accounts display their real names, breaking with long-held tradition on the internet for users to be able to hide their identities.

Weibo CEO Wang Gaofei said the policy will apply to users with over one million followers and comment on topics including politics, finance and entertainment, Reuters reports.

However, the planned policy could raise concerns among free-speech activists in China as the government seeks to clamp down on censoring content it doesn’t agree with on social media. 

Wang suggested that some users might be able to skirt the new policy by limiting their follower counts to below 500,000.

Businesswith Ben White
Sign up for The Messenger’s free, must-read business newsletter, with exclusive reporting and expert analysis from Chief Wall Street Correspondent Ben White.
 
By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use.
Thanks for signing up!
You are now signed up for our Business newsletter.