China tightens rules on Internet use, online comments

China has tightened Internet controls with new rules that require users to register their real names and barring online material that challenges the country's political system.The rules issued Wednesday follow what technology companies say are official efforts to block use of virtual private networks to circumvent Chinese Internet filters. The new rules apply to blogs, online discussion forums and other forums that allow Chinese to express themselves in public in a society in which all media are state-controlled.The rules say Internet companies are required to confirm the identities of their users. It says users that post material deemed to challenge state power or national unity will lose their accounts.Earlier reports suggest that China had 649 million Internet users by the end of 2014, with 557 million of those using handsets to go online, as the world’s biggest smartphone market continues its shift to mobile. Growth in mobile Internet users was faster, at 57 million.Riding this wave are some of China’s, and the world’s, biggest technology companies. These include e-commerce groups Alibaba and JD.com, social networking and video games firm Tencent Holdings, search giant Baidu and smartphone maker Xiaomi.With inputs from Associated Press