The Chinese government is now planning to introduce a new rule for people who apply for a new fixed-line telephone service or buy wireless internet cards. People who apply for a new connection may be asked to present their ID cards. The recent move has been taken after the country launched its real name registration system for mobile phone users around three years ago.
A draft was published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which asks telecom operators for ID cards from customers who buy fixed line phones or web cards. The draft said, “This measure is to protect the legitimate rights of both telecom service subscribers and providers, and to safeguard the security of network information”. The document was released by the ministry on their website on April 11, 2013. It is also seeking public opinion until May 15, 2013.
The recent move has been taken with an aim to reduce the influence of porn, spam and fraud on cellular phones. However, the real name registration system for mobile phones is not going as per plan. Chinese customers can still buy phones without showing the ID cards in certain places like newspaper stands, consumer electronic stores and cellphone repair stores.
