It’s hard to be anonymous online in China. Websites and apps must verify users with their phone numbers, which are tied to personal identification numbers that all adults are assigned.
Now it could get more difficult under a proposal by China’s internet regulators: The government wants to take over the job of verification from the companies and give people a single ID to use across the internet.
The Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Administration of China say the proposal is meant to protect privacy and prevent online fraud.
A national internet ID would reduce “the excessive collection and retention of citizens’ personal information by internet platforms on the grounds of implementing real-name registration,” the regulators said.
Use of the ID system by websites and apps would be voluntary, according to the proposal, which is open for public comment until the end of August.
https://dnyuz.com/2024/07/31/china-wants-to-start-a-national-internet-id-system/