Can the new ‘real name’ registration system for mobile phone users fight fraud and protect personal privacy?
　　
　　Purportedly in an effort to fight fraud and the proliferation of “junk” messages, beginning January the government is requiring mobile phone subscribers to register their real names and other personal information, but the move has provoked sharp controversy.
　　Li Xiaohai, who runs a cosmetics shop in Beijing, strongly opposes the new requirement, commenting, “Who will make sure that my personal information won’t be abused?”
　　Li said that in 2003 he bought a car, which required registration of his personal information, and he complied. However, some businesses obtained the information and their salespeople frequently call him or visit his apartment, which Li said bothers him a great deal.
　　“Mobile carriers sometimes subtract money from subscribers’ accounts for no reason or impose unwanted services on consumers,” he said. “I don’t hold them in high regard. I’m afraid more harassment will occur if they get people’s personal information.”
　　Li has two mobile phones, one for communicating with relatives and friends and the other for business use. In both he uses prepaid cards, and so he does not have to disclose his personal information.
　　Li is not alone in objecting to the new rule. According to an online survey conducted by China Youth Daily after the Ministry of Information Industry announced the plan, 42.1 percent of users oppose the system, while another 13 percent are ambivalent.
　　
　　A public nuisance
　　
　　It has always been convenient to buy a phone card in China. These prepaid accounts have no monthly fee. Rather, the user pays a flat charge to buy the card and uses it to make calls until the credit runs out. The other type of service is post-paid service, which requires a monthly fee and registration of personal information. But the rate charged for calls is less than on calling cards.
　　The convenience of buying prepaid phone cards is being manipulated by some people, however, and leaves phone users open to widespread and fraudulent “spam” messages. Simply by buying a mobile phone and a prepaid card, unscrupulous people can send fraudulent messages to any mobile phone user. The total cost is at least 1,000 yuan ($125), but if one person is deceived, a swindler can make a lot of money.
　　In addition, some businesses also send short messages to potential customers as a promotional measure.
　　Currently, there are 383 million mobile phone users in China, and most of them have received these junk messages. According to a nationwide survey, 74.8 percent of respondents say they get such messages from time to time, while 23.8 percent are occasional recipients; only 1.4 percent claim they never get such messages.
　　Wu Heping, Spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security, admitted these illegal junk messages have become a public nuisance harmful to social stability.
　　On November 1, 2005, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Information Technology and the China Banking Regulatory Commission jointly decided to try to control the flood of spam. They stated that most short messages that harm the public interest fall into the following categories: fraudulent or blackmailing messages, pornographic and other “indecent” messages, and the dissemination of rumors, false documents and other harmful messages.
　　To cope with mobile phone crimes, the Ministry of Information Industry proposed the real name registration requirement. Minister Wang Xudong noted that the intention of the regulation is to identify those who send illegal phone messages.
　　
　　A thorny rose
　　
　　As a matter of fact, real name registration for mobile phones is not a new policy, since it is required for the post-paid service. But, to the ministry’s surprise, the proposed large-scale implementation of the system has stirred controversy among users, with the most sensitive issue being whether the personal information can be fully protected.
　　According to the China Youth Daily survey, even many of the real name plan’s proponents, accounting for 44.9 percent of the respondents, worry about the safety of their personal information. The program has indeed become a rose with thorns.
　　A Li, a friend of Li Xiaohai’s, said she views real name registration positively because she was once the victim of a scam perpetrated through a phone message.
　　On October 2, 2005, while shopping at a large mall, she received a mobile phone message saying there was a problem with her bank card and providing a phone number for her to call. She then dialed the number and followed the instructions of a person who claimed to be a bank service representative. The person hung up immediately after A Li complied with the instructions. Feeling uneasy, she went to the bank and found that 110,000 yuan ($14,000) had just been taken out of her account.
　　The police told her this type of fraud has happened numerous times, with the total sum reaching millions of yuan. Because the person who victimized A Li used a prepaid card, tracing the culprit was difficult.
　　“If real name registration is introduced, the same crimes will be prevented to some extent,” A Li said, but she added that it is very important to protect users’ privacy.
　　Many people share her concern. On the one hand, they support real name registration, while on the other hand, they fear the abuse of privacy. But in their eyes, the economic losses produced by such fraudulent messages are worse than the abuse of personal information.
　　
　　Compulsory implementation
　　
　　In some cities, such as Shanghai and Quanzhou in Fujian Province, real name registration for mobile phones has already been carried out.
　　On April 21, 2004, the police of Quanzhou initiated the system throughout the city jointly with local mobile service providers. In 2005, the Shanghai Communications Administration and the city’s policy authorities jointly issued a document prescribing that all mobile phone users should have their authentic personal information registered and that telecom enterprises should check applicants’ identification carefully.
　　This year, real name registration for mobile phones will cover the entire nation. The Ministry of Information Industry said implementation is compulsory.
　　Many provinces, such as Sichuan, have already begun administrative efforts to implement the system. Those who already have service are required to register their real names with telecom providers. For those who don’t obey the rules, mobile phone service will be suspended.
　　Chen Jinqiao, a research fellow with the Ministry of Information Industry, noted that the biggest problem stems not from telecom companies, but from users. According to him, opinions among mobile phone users vary greatly and there is no organization to speak for their interests. As a result, it is hard to establish a consensus. As for the telecom providers, since many prepaid card users do not leave any personal information, it is hard for the companies to track down clients.
　　In addition, the revenue of mobile carriers declined in areas where the system was implemented previously. In Quanzhou, for example, China Unicom reported about a 20 percent drop in the number of users compared to the period before April 2004, when the policy was introduced.
　　Can the real name registration system stop spam? Many people still doubt it. “Theoretically, the real name registration is supposed to be an effective way to curb illegal short messages,” said Li Xiaohai. “But currently, people can easily get a false ID card, and I’m afraid we cannot have high expectations of the new idea.”
　　Currently, producers of false identification documents are prevalent in the nation. Since telecom service providers do not have the same ability as the police to identify a false ID card, criminals use them and then send illegal messages.
　　In 2000, in order to cope with fraud and corruption, China implemented a real name registration system for bank savings accounts. But now, many agree it is easy for swindlers to open a bank account using a fake ID card. The only thing a bank employee can do, they complain, is check whether the photo on the ID card matches the person who is applying to open an account.
　　“The problem of illegal short messages cannot be solved only through real name registration,” Li said. “Prevention requires close cooperation among the government, telecom companies and short message service providers. I think if all those departments cooperate well and carry out effective regulation, it won’t be hard to control illegal messages.”

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