Information publishing and instant messaging services require real-identity information
If your Chinese service provides posting or messaging, it must obtain the required real-identity information when service is opened. If the user does not supply it, the relevant service cannot be provided. Users can still display nicknames. The cited livestream rules permit verification through methods such as mobile telephone numbers. Failure to comply brings a correction order; refusal or serious cases can mean RMB 50,000–500,000 fines and possible closure.
What it takes
Identity-verification services typically charge per check. Design for verified identity in the service's records and user-selected public display names, with appropriate data protection.
What you may gain
The Cybersecurity Law requires network operators providing network access, domain registration, fixed or mobile telephone connection, information publishing, or instant messaging to require users' real-identity information when concluding an agreement or confirming service. Without it, the relevant service must not be provided. Failure brings a correction order; refusal or serious circumstances can lead to RMB 50,000–500,000 fines, suspension of the relevant business, rectification, website or app closure, or license revocation. Directly responsible individuals face RMB 10,000–100,000 fines. Livestreaming follows the principle of real identity in the backend and voluntary public identity, with verification through mobile telephone numbers or similar methods. Livestream commerce requires stricter verification based on identity-document information or a unified social credit code—the identifier on a Chinese business license. These are Chinese rules.
Context & considerations
The 2025 amendment, effective January 1, 2026, renumbered these provisions: identity verification moved from Article 24 to 26, and its penalty from Article 61 to 64. The cited wording did not change. Update references that still use the old numbers. The source's shorthand about storing a “real name” should be implemented according to the actual verification and data-protection requirements, rather than taken as a reason to collect unnecessary identity data.
Research & references
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (2025). Cybersecurity Law, 2025 amendment effective January 1, 2026, Articles 26 and 64; these were Articles 24 and 61 in the 2016 text. https://www.cac.gov.cn/2025-12/29/c_1768735112911946.htm; Cyberspace Administration of China (2016). Provisions on the Administration of Internet Livestreaming Services, Articles 12 and 16. https://www.cac.gov.cn/2016-11/04/c_1119847629.htm; Cyberspace Administration of China and six other departments (2021). Trial Measures for the Administration of Livestream Marketing, Guoxinban Fawen [2021] No. 5, Article 8. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-04/23/content_5601682.htm