To:The National Internet Information Office,Ministry
of Industry and Information Technology
国家互联网信息办公室、工业和信息化部：
In response to the Notice of Soliciting Public Comment on the Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Services (Draft for Public Comment)
issued by the two departments on June 7, 2012, I set out below my comment.
根据二〇一二年六月七日两部门发布的”关于《互联网信息服务管理办法（修订草案征求意见稿）》公开征求意见的通知”（以下简称”征求意见的通知”），兹提出如下意见。
Section 1 of Article 15 of the Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Services (Draft for Public Comment) (hereinafter referred to as “the Draft”) stipulates that any Internet information service provider which provides services of Internet users disseminating information to the public should require any of the Internet users to register real identity information.
随同征求意见的通知公布的《互联网信息服务管理办法（修订草案征求意见稿）》（以下简称”征求意见稿”）第十五条第一款规定，”提供由互联网用户向公众发布信息服务的互联网信息服务提供者，应当要求用户用真实身份信息注册。”
对此，我基于如下所述理由提出删除该款规定的意见。
Firstly, in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, any citizen has the freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, procession and protest.The Constitution and the laws passed by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee do not require citizens to use real names and other real identity information when they make speeches.The administrative regulations and rules do not require citizens to use real identity information when they make speeches or express other information in physical spaces (such as squares, conference venues, libraries, paper-based newspapers, magazines and books). By the same token, the administrative regulations and rules should not limit the way of citizens making Internet-mediated speeches to real-name.
首先，中国现行宪法第三十五条规定，中华人民共和国公民有言论、出版、集会、结社、游行、示威的自由。中国现行宪法和全国人大及其常委会通过的法律没有明文要求公民发表言论时得使用真实姓名等自己的真实身份信息。在不以互联网为媒介的空间（例如广场、会场、图书馆等公共场所，纸质报刊杂志图书）中，行政法规、部门规章没有要求公民发表言论或者其它信息时得使用真实身份信息。同理，行政法规、部门规章不应限制公民通过互联网发表言论时的非实名方式。
Secondly, citizens have a variety of justified reasons for use of pen-names, stage-names, nicknames, pseudonyms, or no-names to orally or non-orally publicize remarks, essays, opinions, comments and suggestions. For instance, some do not use real names just out of the fear of retribution and victimization; some (only to name an example, people with HIV/AIDS) do not use real names in order to protect privacy; some do not use real names because their lives will be disturbed if they are readily identifiable; and others use not real names as their pen-names and stage-names are well-known and directly associated with reputation and goodwill. In addition, in the past six decades, use of pen-names, stage-names and pseudonym by citizens in making speeches on public matters, attending public activities and participating in public affairs may be deemed as practice of a constitutional nature. Therefore, the administrative regulations and departmental rules should not require citizens to register real names and other identity information when they make speeches over the Internet.
其次，公民有各种各样正当理由使用笔名、艺名、外号、假名、匿名等方式发表口头或者非口头的言论、文章、观点、意见和建议。例如，有些人出于害怕打击报复；有些出于保护自己隐私（例如艾滋感染者和病人）；有些因为不愿意被识别而受到滋扰，正常生活和工作受到影响；有些因为其笔名、艺名等广为所知，直接与其名誉、商誉等有关。此外，这六十多年来，笔名、艺名、匿名等非实名方式发表涉及公共事务的言论、参与公共活动，参与公共事务，可以视为具有宪法惯例性质的公民实践。行政法规、部门规章不应要求公民通过互联网发表言论或者其它信息时必须注册真实身份信息。
Thirdly, as a market participant, an Internet information service provider has the right to determine whether any user should register real identity information. Likewise, a user has the right to determine whether to accept or decline the request from an Internet information service provider for real identity information. Furthermore, many of Internet information service providers are committed to corporate social responsibility while to ensure freedom of speech is believed to be an integral part of corporate social responsibility. Given the fact that China has passed and been enforcing laws and regulations on prevention, control and punishment of illegal activities over the Internet, the imposition on Internet information service providers of requiring users to register real identity information is an unnecessary and undue burden on enterprises, and hence, is an excessive limitation on the right of enterprises to conduct business in a manner of their own choice.
再次，作为市场主体的互联网信息服务提供者有权自主决定使用其服务的用户是否得登记真实身份信息；用户作为消费和使用主体当然有权决定是否接受该公司提供的但要求用户实名的服务，可以拒绝或退出该服务。而且，许多作为公司的互联网信息服务提供者致力于企业社会责任，而确保公民实现言论自由被认为是现代企业社会责任的基本组成部分。在中国现行法律和行政法规对预防、控制和制裁通过互联网实施违法犯罪活动进行了规定时，行政法规、部门规章要求所有提供由互联网用户向公众发布信息服务的互联网信息服务提供者要求用户用真实身份信息注册，这是对企业和其它组织施加了不必要、不合理的义务，这种规制负担构成对企业自主经营权的不适当的限制。
Fourthly, as China has signed and ratified a series of WTO documents such as GATT and GATS, Section 1 of Article 15 of the Draft, together with provisions of a prohibitive nature in other regulations, might amount to a trade barrier under these treaties.
最后，中国已经签署、加入并批准了一系列与世界贸易组织有关的协议，例如《关税与贸易总协定》、《服务贸易总协定》。征求意见稿第十五条第一款与其它涉及互联网管理的有关限制性或禁止性规定可能会一起被认为构成”贸易壁垒”。
Please consider the above-mentioned comment when the two departments finalize the Draft.
以上意见供两部门在修订《互联网信息服务管理办法（修订草案征求意见稿）》时参考和采纳。
Submitted by Dan Zhou
周丹
