Chinese government has decided to tighten its grip on the internet as it introduces new centralized online ID system.
According to CNN, China has mastered the craft of policing the internet, operating one of the world’s most extensive online censorship and surveillance regimes.
With mandatory identity checks on every online platform, it has become almost impossible for users to stay anonymous.
But this rigidly moderated online environment is about to face even stricter controls with the introduction of a state-issued national internet ID.
Instead of requiring individuals to submit their personal information for identity checks separately on each platform, the government now seeks to centralize the process by issuing a virtual ID that will allow users to sign in across different social media apps and websites.
The rules for the new system, currently voluntary, were released in late May and will be implemented in mid-July. It aims to “protect citizens’ identity information, and support the healthy and orderly development of the digital economy,” according to the published rules.
Experts, however, have raised concerns that the new policy will further erode already limited freedom of expression by forcing internet users to relinquish even more control to the state.
Since Chinese leader Xi Jinping took power in 2012, the country has further tightened its grip on the digital space through an army of censors. Deployed around the clock, they remove posts, suspend accounts and help authorities identify critics, quashing any sign of dissent before it can gain traction.
