On October 31, Weibo, as well as several other major Chinese social media platforms including WeChat, Douyin, Zhihu, Xiaohongshu, and Kuaishou, announced that they now required popular users’ legal names to be made visible to the public. Weibo stated in a public post that the new rule would first apply to all users with over 1 million followers, then to those with over 500,000.

Chinese social media users expressed criticism and concern over the new rule, with many saying it would violate user privacy, enable toxic online behaviors like doxxing and harassment, and limit the diversity of voices on the Chinese internet. Several famous online influencers, such as science blogger Ming Yu Zhui Ran, have decided to remove some of their followers to avoid making their identity public. Others, such as rapper Kindergarten Killer, have decided to delete their social media accounts altogether.

Read more:

Chen, C. (2023, November 21). The end of anonymity on Chinese social media. Rest of World. https://restofworld.org/2023/weibo-legal-display-name-influencers/