Celebrities with more than 500,000 followers must use their real names, and the short video industry is experiencing another "earthquake"

With the implementation of the "front-end real-name system" policy, how will each platform promote real-name registration, and how should self-media accounts deal with real-name registration? This article collects and organizes the real-name promotion measures released by various self-media platforms, the restrictions that creators will face if they do not agree to real-name registration, and how to protect personal information under the real-name system. It also analyzes the pros and cons of the real-name system for users and creators, as well as how creators deal with it under the real-name system. It is recommended for netizens and self-media creators who want to understand the real-name system or are confused about it.

On October 13, a Weibo finance influencer revealed that “all online self-media platforms must implement a real-name system, meaning that the influencer’s real name must be displayed on the front page of the first-level page.”

The next day, he added that before the end of October, the real names of self-media accounts with 1 million followers will be displayed on the front desk; in December, the real names of self-media accounts with 500,000 followers will be displayed on the front desk; and the self-media accounts with 100,000 followers will complete the real-name authentication of the ID card in the background and display the professional information on the front desk.

A few days ago, the shoe finally landed. Douyin, Kuaishou, Bilibili, WeChat, Xiaohongshu, Baijiahao and other media platforms have issued announcements, announcing that they will gradually promote the front-end real-name system for big V accounts, initially focusing on accounts with more than 1 million followers, and later covering accounts with more than 500,000 followers.

There is no shortage of news in the short video and live broadcast industry, but the shocks this year have been particularly fierce. What impact will the implementation of the front-end real-name system have on creators? What other information is worthy of attention from practitioners?

1. Multiple platforms announced the promotion of the “big V real-name system”

Judging from the announcements on various platforms, the display of real-name information to the outside world will basically be implemented by defining areas and numbers of fans, and accounts without real-name registration will be restricted in terms of traffic and other aspects.

1. TikTok

Douyin announced that in order to enhance the credibility of "self-media" accounts, protect the legitimate rights and interests of users, and maintain a clear and healthy platform order, "self-media" accounts with more than 500,000 followers and that publish content involving current affairs, society, finance, education, medical care, justice , etc. must authorize the platform to display certified real-name information on the account homepage.

Douyin said that users who need to authorize the display of real-name information of their accounts will receive a notification in the website, and the specific time of authorization display will be subject to the actual notification. If the account receives the notification but does not authenticate or authorize, it will affect the account content dissemination, commercial income, etc. until the authentication and authorization display are completed.

2. Kuaishou

Kuaishou officially announced that the platform will guide some "self-media" accounts to complete the real identity information authentication and authorize the display of real-name information on personal account profile pages. Related functions will be tested in the near future and gradually put into use.

The scope of Kuaishou's front-end real-name accounts is: "self-media" accounts with more than 500,000 fans involved in domestic and international news, social hot spots, and professional fields such as medical and judicial fields. They will receive relevant notifications in batches and stages, and can operate according to the notification prompts. After obtaining consent, the real-name information will be displayed on the personal account profile page .

3. Bilibili

Bilibili announced that it will guide "self-media" accounts with more than 500,000 fans to display their real names in batches and stages. The first batch of self-media accounts with more than 1 million fans will be guided to display their real names. After the user agrees to the real name, the relevant real name information can be viewed on the account information page; if the user does not agree to the real name, the subsequent account traffic and income will be restricted.

4. WeChat

WeChat announced that in order to maintain a good order of online communication, promote the construction of a healthy and orderly cyberspace, enhance the credibility of top "self-media" accounts, and facilitate public supervision for the public interest, WeChat will guide "self-media" accounts with more than 500,000 "fans" to display their real-name information in batches and stages. In the near future, it will first guide "self-media" accounts with more than 1 million "fans" to display their real-name information.

According to the number of fans of WeChat public accounts and video accounts, after the user confirms and agrees to display, the real name of the registrant will be displayed for "self-media" accounts with more than 1 million "fans" on the platform, and the name of the company or organization will be displayed for institutional accounts. The relevant real-name information can be viewed on the account information page . The platform encourages "self-media" creators to express themselves truthfully and provide users with higher-quality and reliable content. For "self-media" accounts with more than 1 million "fans" that do not display real-name information to the public, account traffic and income will be restricted.

5. Xiaohongshu

In order to standardize the operation of "self-media" accounts, strengthen the display of qualification certification, and strengthen the management of information authenticity, the Xiaohongshu platform will guide "self-media" accounts with more than 500,000 fans to display real-name information in the front desk in batches and stages. The first batch will send internal letters to "self-media" accounts with more than 1 million fans, and after obtaining the user's consent, display the real name of the real-name certification on their personal homepage. If the relevant "self-media" account does not agree to display the real-name information in the front desk, the account's economic benefits, traffic distribution and other rights and interests will be restricted in the future.

6. Baijiahao

Baidu announced that the Baijiahao platform will issue in-site letters to "self-media" accounts with more than 500,000 followers in batches and phases. After the user confirms and agrees, the real names of the relevant accounts will be made public. The first batch of accounts will have more than 1 million followers and will publish content in the fields of current affairs, politics, finance, education, medical care, justice , etc. In addition, Baidu will upgrade the profit-sharing rules. For users who do not agree to real-name use, subsequent traffic and revenue will be affected accordingly.

Users and creators expressed different opinions on the news of "front-end real-name registration".

Some ordinary users believe that the real-name system mainly affects internet celebrities and bloggers, but has no effect on their own surfing; some users are worried that the implementation of the real-name system will leak privacy, and bloggers in the niche fields they follow do not rely on their accounts as their main source of income. In order not to expose their real social identities, they may give up creating content.

Another user suggested that the real-name system has more advantages than disadvantages for ordinary people. "The real-name system for big Vs actually serves to constrain the morality of big Vs through their real-life social relationships, rather than their online friends."

A Weibo celebrity said, "When a celebrity speaks on the Internet, the public should know who he is, and the people around him should know what he said on the Internet. If this rule is established, I believe it will not become a special obstacle for celebrities to make legitimate comments. On the contrary, it will only improve the quality of the Internet public opinion field ."

Netizens’ feedback on the “real-name system”

Under the topic of promoting the real-name system on the Internet, personal privacy protection is a more common hot topic. Some creators expressed their anxiety about their own safety. Education blogger @毛猫虫Claire recounted her experience of being harassed by a fanatical fan on Weibo, "Through private messages, he scanned his ID card, property certificate, etc. to me." She also mentioned, "Knowing the real name, IP address, and the details that are usually displayed online, it shouldn't be difficult to find a person."

Under the topic of promoting the online real-name system, the protection of personal privacy is the most discussed issue among netizens. The platform has also announced measures to protect personal information.

For example, Douyin stated that except for the real name and company name information authorized for display, the platform will not actively disclose other information of the account ; it will continue to improve the real-name information viewing function, and only allow accounts that have completed authentication by providing identity documents or business licenses and other information to the platform to view the real-name information of other people's accounts after logging in, and restrict accounts with risky behaviors or abnormal status from viewing the real-name information of other people's accounts.

At the same time, a special anti-cyberbullying protection mechanism will be established, and a "one-click anti-cyberbullying" function will be launched to quickly and prioritize the handling of relevant complaints and reports, and take measures such as warning education, muteness, and account bans for accounts involved in cyberbullying as appropriate.

2. “Real-name system” is set in stone, how should creators respond?

"Real-name system" is not a new topic. With the development of the Internet, we have gradually entered the era of "de-anonymization".

In 2015, the online real-name system was implemented. At that time, it was "real name in the background, voluntary in the front", that is, the personal identity information used by the user for registration could only be seen by the platform, and the user could only see the network ID displayed in the front.

At the end of April 2022, platforms such as Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu fully promoted the mandatory disclosure policy of IP address information, and publicized the provincial IP address of each user. Users cannot choose to disclose or close their IP address information on their own.

The news of "front-end real-name registration" has also been around for a long time. In July 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a "Notice on Strengthening the Management of "Self-Media"", requiring "strengthening the display of self-media qualification certification".

In the same month, Zhihu announced the official closure of the "anonymous function" , and the rumor that "I made up stories anonymously on Zhihu" gradually became a thing of the past.

Now that various platforms have announced the promotion of "front-end real-name registration", some people believe that this is a response to the July notice.

So, why is it necessary to implement the "front desk real-name" system? We may be able to find clues from public news.

In the era of traffic, some internet celebrities, in order to attract fans, fabricate facts, sensationalize, create false personalities, hype, and trigger cyber violence and other malicious incidents, which has led to negative speculation and impression of the public towards the profession of internet celebrity.

In previous articles, Kas listed five typical cases of accounts being banned or banned for a long time:

The first is to perform and hype vulgar scripts, disrupt the network ecology and damage the city's image.

The top anchor @二驴 with tens of millions of fans was banned because of this.

The second type is making false information and fabricating facts to damage the rights and interests of brands and companies.

@蔡老板’s story reminds creators to be cautious in their speech, and also shows that negative news has a “retrospective period”. The account may not be blocked immediately after the negative news breaks out, but a year later.

In 2021, @蔡老板 released a video titled "A friend of mine who is a Tesla supplier exposed the relevant inside story." The video revealed that Tesla adopted measures such as lowering quotations and strict payment methods or cycles in its cooperation with suppliers after localization, which may cause problems with the quality of suppliers' products.

In 2022, Tesla sued @蔡老板 for this. Later, the court determined that the content of "蔡老板"'s video had no factual basis and was a fabrication of false facts. "蔡老板" should apologize to Tesla and compensate Tesla for infringement losses of 100,000 yuan.

On June 6 this year, Tesla's official Weibo account posted that Cai, a car blogger with nearly 7 million fans, was forced to perform a public apology by the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court. In August this year, @蔡老板's account was banned. As a top account, it can be said that the loss was heavy.

According to Kas, there have been more and more cases of people apologizing for outrageous remarks this year. According to statistics from the Public Opinion Center of Legal Network, among the 242 online rumors involving the law in the first half of this year, there were 54 cases where the official reports clearly stated that the rumor makers' purpose was to "attract attention and traffic".

The third type is to use the identity of a vulnerable group to spread misery information and hurt the feelings of netizens.

For example, @张陌陌 posted multiple videos showing sick children, minors, and disabled people, and improperly gained 1.35 million followers, resulting in the account being closed.

The fourth type is that after becoming famous by relying on a personal image, it is discovered that the image is fake, which causes a crisis of trust among fans.

For example, in August this year, @老于小宝 was found by netizens to have a fake persona. Some of the pictures in her notes were collages from the Internet, not real life. Previously, she had attracted more than 100,000 fans on the Xiaohongshu platform by sharing sweet love stories, and also received many brand advertisements. After her persona collapsed, she posted an apology on Weibo and cancelled her social media account.

The fifth type is crossing the legal red line and suspected of tax evasion and other illegal activities.

For example, @秀才 was reported for suspected tax issues and his Douyin account has been banned.

If the front-end real-name system is truly implemented, in specific industries and fields, Internet celebrities/big Vs with more than 500,000 or 1 million fans must display their real names. Because it involves the issue of traffic distribution, the platform has a higher voice, and creators who need to monetize their accounts have no choice but to use the real-name policy.

In the face of the inevitable "front-end real-name" era, what mentality should creators adopt?

All Kas can think of is to "be careful in what you say and do" and speak with a more rigorous attitude, whether creating pictures, short videos or live broadcast content, and try to be objective, comprehensive and rational. There is no other way.

Kas believes that after the front-end real-name policy is implemented, some creators will inevitably be affected. Requiring the front-end real-name system for top creators or creators in specific tracks will sound the alarm for influential big Vs and may reduce the output of a lot of false information. As for whether we will see a higher-quality Internet public opinion field, it depends on the actual results after the real-name system is implemented.

Author: Kas Data

Source: WeChat public account "CaasData (ID: caasdata6)"