Tibet's Web, phone users require real name registration

Internet, fixed line and mobile phone users in Tibet have provided service operators with their real names, as required by a local regulation in 2011.

China Daily reported on on Wednesday, data from the region's communications administration showed that by the end of 2012, 2.76 million fixed line and mobile phone users, and 1.47 million Web users in Tibet had registered for services under their real identities.

The real-name registration is conducive to protecting citizens' personal information and curbing the spread of detrimental information, Nyima Doje, deputy director of the administration said in the report.

This comes after regional legislators passed the regulation on real-name registration, a year before the country's top legislature approved of similar rules, the report noted.

According to Dai Jianguo, member of the commission of legal affairs under the regional people's congress, the growing popularity of the Internet and mobile phones has brought about social problems, including the rampant circulation of online rumors, pornography and spam messages.

"The real-name registration will help resolve these problems while benefiting the long-term, sound development of the Internet," Dai said.

Doje also added since the registration rules were implemented the number of spam messages sent through the Internet and phones in Tibet had declined by more than 40 percent.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) also said in April it will extend its real-name registration mandate to prepaid mobile Internet cards and fixed-line phone services, to safeguard the security of network information.