Sina Weibo Adds Overseas Real-Name System, But Not Really

As part of yet another drive to make Sina Weibo more “honest,” the company has upgraded its real-name verification system once again. In a report on its own site, Sina claims the system finally supports legit real name verification for overseas users. While it’s possible that different systems have been implemented in different countries, we found that in the US, Sina Weibo was willing to register a new user whose real name was listed as “Tech in Asia” and whose passport number was “123456789.” Sina’s verification system also failed for already registered overseas users; refusing to accept my actual name but being totally willing to accept that I was Zhuge Liang and that my passport number was (again) 123456789. So we’re thinking that Sina still isn’t taking overseas registration all that seriously.

Now Sina thinks that my real name is Zhuge Liang. Perhaps I should have used a test account for this instead…

Interestingly, Sina has also changed the default login credential from an email address to a phone number, although users can still register with an email address if they choose by clicking on a link. That’s a good thing for overseas users, because Sina still doesn’t recognize any overseas numbers; phone numbers must be 11 digits and begin with 12, 13, 14, 15, or 18 (i.e., they must be Chinese mobile numbers) to work in the system. And while we’re piling on Sina for not making any real attempt to serve overseas users, there’s still no support for English or any other foreign languages. Perhaps that’s why Sina’s system won’t accept names that aren’t written in Chinese characters; the company still has no interest in catering to any other demographics.

As of today, Sina reports that it has more than 520,000 verified users, which isn’t a very impressive number at all given that the company claims more than 300 million registered users. In fact, it’s such an unimpressive number that I have to wonder if perhaps it wasn’t a typo in the report or something. After half a year of campaigning to get people to verify their accounts with their real identities, has the turnout really been this dismally low?

Weibo’s system has also been upgraded in other ways, including a new feature that allows users to report falsely-verified users. Sina has promised that it will punish users abusing its real-name verification system harshly, and in an online poll asking users what punishment they preferred, most users chose “revoke their user verification.”

Sina’s implementation of real-name requirements has always been a bit questionable, and it doesn’t make much sense for the company to limit its new users or cull its userbase of unverified users, especially when its verified user numbers are apparently so dismally low. But the company does have to compel with both regulatory requirements and user frustration at how hard it can be to tell real from fake and rumors from the truth. I would argue that Weibo’s problems with rumors is simply the reflection of a much larger social issue, not something that’s wrong with the platform. But Sina can’t change society, so I’d expect these platform “upgrades” to keep coming from time to time.