Tencent, Kuaishou demand real names in China Internet tightening

Tencent’s WeChat, ByteDance’s TikTok-like Douyin and video service Kuaishou Technology were among the platforms that posted remarkably similar notices Tuesday requiring users with at least half a million followers to reveal their real names in online posts. — Bloomberg

China’s largest social media players from Tencent Holdings Ltd to ByteDance Ltd have asked their most popular influencers to display their actual identities, a major shift that tightens Beijing’s grip over the world’s largest Internet arena.

Tencent’s WeChat, ByteDance’s TikTok-like Douyin and video service Kuaishou Technology were among the platforms that posted remarkably similar notices Tuesday requiring users with at least half a million followers to reveal their real names in online posts. They’re following in the footsteps of microblogging site Weibo Corp, whose chief executive telegraphed the move by unmasking his own identity on his Twitter-like platform earlier this month.