Social media sites in China purge 60,000 fake accounts ahead of new regulations

China’s State Internet Information Office (SIIO) today reported the country’s popular social networks have wiped out roughly 60,000 fake accounts in authorities’ latest campaign to cleanse the internet of impersonators, according to Techweb.

The top three social networks – Sina Weibo, and Tencent’s WeChat and QQ – conducted the cleanup internally after the SIIO announced new regulations would go into affect this Sunday, March 1. Those regulations ban the use of certain nicknames on the web, including impersonation accounts of public figures like Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, parody accounts of organizations such as provincial governments and terrorist factions, and other handles deemed vulgar, fraudulent, or violent.

Techweb reports Sina removed 5,500 "misleading" accounts, while Tencent purged nearly 26,000 from QQ, WeChat, and Tencent Weibo. Alibaba marketplaces came under scrutiny, forcing it to banish some merchant accounts. Alibaba also cleared out violators on its other holdings, including the Xiami streaming music service and the Alimama advertising exchange. Some popular news forums also participated in the campaign.

Once the March 1 deadline hits, authorities will ramp up their policing efforts of fake accounts, whereas the current system mainly depends on the internet companies policing themselves. The SIIO says its goal is to "promote the healthy development of the internet industry" by eliminating the spread of rumors, pornography, violent content, and fear-mongering.

See: A brief history of China’s campaign to enforce real-name registration online

(Source: Techweb)