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Illustration by: Lars Leetaru

China's Internet watchdog has issued rules forcing real-name registrations on public accounts of instant messaging apps and requiring those wishing to publish or reprint political news to seek prior approval.

China has been stepping up online censorship in recent months.

While the Beijing government say the new rules are aimed at helping the fight against terrorism, rights activists believe the regulations are aimed at keeping tabs on free speech in the relatively uncontrolled world of mobile messaging.

The new rules will impact on popular mobile messaging apps such as Tencent's WeChat, which has almost 400 million users, as well other services such as QQ, also operated by Tencent, Alibaba's Laiwang, NetEase's Yixin and Xiaomi's Miliao. Twitter is banned in China, and can only be accessed using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Tencent, which has Asia's largest Internet company, has closed more than 100 public WeChat accounts, the official news agency Xinhua reported Thursday.

China has also told South Korea it has blocked access to two mobile messaging services, Kakao Talk and Line, which it said were used to exchange terrorism-related information.

The instant messaging provider must have professional staff, protect user information and privacy, accept social supervision and report illegal information. The instant messaging provider must register using their real identity.

"Users shall abide by laws and regulations, the socialist system, national interests, the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, public order, social morality and ensure the authenticity of the information they provide," according to the new rules.

Only approved news agencies and websites will be allowed to post or tweet the news, the rules said, and accounts that have not been approved are forbidden to publish or reprint political news.

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China Cranks Up Censorship of Instant Messaging Services