Real names required for web, phone users in Tibet

LHASA - All Internet, fixed line and mobile phone users in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region have provided service operators with their real names, as required by a 2011 local regulation, local authorities said Monday.

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, according to data from the regional communications administration.

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

In November 2011, regional legislators passed the regulation on real-name registration, a year before the country's top legislature approved similar rules.

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, said Dai Jianguo, a member of the commission of legal affairs under the regional people's congress.

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

Nyima Doje said that since the registration rules were implemented, the number of spam messages sent via the Internet and phones in Tibet has declined by more than 40 percent.

"Thanks to the rules, I feel less bothered by disturbing messages and calls," said a man surnamed Zhang who lives in the regional capital of Lhasa.