Real names required to register for Internet

Measures to safeguard privacy and enshrine real-name requirements for Web users were included in a 12-article decision that was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Friday.

The decision, which also deals with electronic spamming, takes effect immediately and has the same legal effect as a law. It regulates for the first time that the State should protect online information that bears someone's personal identity and relates to privacy, along with punitive measures for violations.

"In spite of various regulations adopted by the State Council and by authorities in certain regions to deal with the issue since 2000, the laws safeguarding online information are generally weak due to the lack of over-arching laws," Li Fei, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Commission under the NPC Standing Committee, told reporters Friday.

According to the new regulations, all organizations, government agencies or individuals are forbidden from stealing, illegally collecting, trading or unlawfully providing the personal information of others.

In regard to the collection and use of personal information, network service providers and enterprises should abide by the law and receive people's consent before providing their information, reads the decision.

Meanwhile, disseminating commercial digital messages through cellphones, landlines or e-mails without the recipient's consent has also been banned, in an effort to crack down on the public's complaints of rampant spam.

Citizens are now entitled to demand service providers delete information if they feel badgered or their personal information is illegally revealed online.