Weibo shows user locations in latest censorship tactic

WEIBO, China’s version of Twitter, has introduced a feature that automatically reveals users’ locations in the latest government crackdown on free speech.

Weibo, which has more than 570million monthly users, is already routinely censored as posts deemed sensitive by Beijing are taken down and restrictions are put on key words and phrases.

However, in certain situations, such as the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai, which has seen an outpouring of online criticism, the sheer volume of posts can be too much for censors and algorithms to track.

The automatic display of commenters’ IP locations is meant to discourage “bad behaviour” online, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Weibo said the settings are designed to stop users “impersonating parties involved in hot-topic issues, malicious disinformation and traffic scraping, and to ensure the authenticity and transparency of the content disseminated”.

“Weibo has always been committed to maintaining a healthy and orderly atmosphere of discussion and protecting the rights and interests of users to quickly obtain real and effective information,” it added.

Last month, Weibo said it would test such settings in response to misinformation related to the war in Ukraine.

However, many users saw the move as a further warning to keep their opinions to themselves. One user wrote: “Making public my IP location really makes me feel insecure.”

The topic of Weibo’s changes had gathered more than 200million views by yesterday evening. The comments already reflected Weibo’s new rules, carrying a label indicating the province or municipality of the user’s IP address.

‘Weibo forcibly displays IP addresses ... which is undoubtedly a means to control freedom of speech’

Another user wrote: “Weibo forcibly displays IP addresses, and users cannot close the function by themselves, which is undoubtedly one of the means to control freedom of speech.”

Some were supportive of the change, calling it a way to fight misinformation. Beijing promotes the idea that the West wants to sow dissent in China’s society.

“There are too many overseas internet armies who spread rumours and talk nonsense every day,” one user wrote. “I support Weibo making IP locations public.”