To the surprise of many users, China’s largest Twitter-esque microblogging website, Sina Weibo, announced on Thursday that it will publish users’ IP addresses and location data in an effort to keep their content honest and nice.
In a post whose title translates as “IP Territorial Function Upgrade Announcement,” the company stated it was taking the action to protect users’ rights, and to make the service more pleasant to use.
In order to reduce undesirable behaviors such as impersonating parties, malicious rumors … as well as to ensure the authenticity and transparency of the disseminated content, the site launched the ‘IP Territory’ function in March this year, announced the social media platform’s official account in Chinese.
The function will see users’ IP addresses recorded, and the province or municipality from which they post appended to their output.