An Internet cafe in Beijing. (Creative Commons)

Reuters reported the move comes in the wake of several government scandals in the country exposed by users. The rules could be a sign of more to come from new leader Xi Jinping of the Communist Party.

From now on, the new regulations dictate, Chinese citizens will have to use their real names when signing up with network providers. Reuters pointed out this already happens.

The most foreboding of the rules seems to justify monitoring by the government and major Internet companies by allowing the deletion of offending posts. 

According to the rules, "Service providers are required to instantly stop the transmission of illegal information once it is spotted and take relevant measures, including removing the information and saving records, before reporting to supervisory authorities."

Read the full story here, and more Neon Tommy stories about censorship here. 

Reach Executive Producer Catherine Green here. Follow her here.