In a recent statement, Weibo announced to its users that their IP address and location will be made public for “Combat Bad Behavior”. According to Reutersthis advertisement has been seen more than 200 million times and is the subject of many criticisms.
IP address and location of users are now public
Weibo is the equivalent of Twitter in China. The Chinese social network announced Thursday, April 28 to its users that their IP address and therefore their location will be made public on their account page and when they post comments. The management of Weibo puts forward a policy of “Combating Bad Online Behavior”. Some users are shocked by this measureothers said they were in favor of it, in light of misinformation related to Covid-19.
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UltraScarry, a Weibo user, clarifies that “At a time when the Covid-19 situation is still serious, the disclosure of IP addresses can effectively reduce the appearance of embarrassing or misleading content from rumor makers and spreaders”. Weibo, which has more than 570 million monthly active users, said users’ IP addresses would be displayed under new settings that came into effect on Thursday and that users cannot disable them.
Weibo complies with Beijing directives
For users in China, the platform will display the province or municipality they are posting from. For those who use Weibo from abroad, the country of the users IP address will be displayed. Depending on the platform, these settings are intended to “reduce bad behavior such as identity theft, malicious disinformation and to guarantee the authenticity and transparency of the content disseminated”.
The Chinese social network specifies that “Weibo has always been committed to maintaining a healthy and orderly discussion atmosphere and protecting the rights and interests of users to obtain verified information promptly”. The effects of the new rules were already visible under the post of the social networksince thousands of user comments all had an additional label indicating the province or municipality of the IP address.
A response to disinformation related to the pandemic and the war between Ukraine and Russia. China is keen to control its cyberspace and is stepping up efforts to ” to clean “ the Chinese web. Moreover, Chinese social networks that do not censor content deemed “criticism” by the government, face financial penalties as well as temporary suspensions of service under current legislation. Weibo just happened to receive several fines last year and presumably wants to comply with Beijing’s regulations.