Chinese Social Media... User Information Disclosed to "Block Rumors"

"Exact location will not be disclosed"
"For overseas users, only the country or region of stay will be disclosed"

Photos of COVID-19 quarantine facilities in Shanghai posted on Chinese social media [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] Chinese social media platforms have announced plans to disclose users' location information under the pretext of blocking rumors.

On the 15th, Chinese social media platforms including short video platforms Douyin and Kuaishou, as well as Zhihu, Jinritoutiao, and Xiaohongshu, simultaneously announced that they will soon disclose users' locations based on their Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

They explained that this measure is not legally mandatory but aims to prevent non-residents from pretending to be locals and spreading rumors.

However, they added that only the province within China where the user is located will be disclosed, not the detailed location, and for overseas users, only the country or region they are staying in will be revealed.

Weibo has already been disclosing users' location information since last month, pointing out rumors related to issues such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and COVID-19.

The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 17th, "As strict lockdowns have been implemented across China over the past month due to the spread of COVID-19 infections, social media has been flooded with posts expressing frustration and anger," adding, "Especially in cities like Shanghai and Changchun, residents are posting complaints about food shortages and supply chain breakdowns on social media."

It continued, "Due to the actions of social media platforms, users of the most popular online communities in China will soon be affected," and "This is the biggest move since social media platforms emphasized transparency regarding users' identities in 2017."

Chinese netizens' reactions to the disclosure of location information are mixed. Some netizens pointed out, as reported by SCMP, that it is easy to obscure IP addresses, making this measure ineffective.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.