(Yicai Global) Aug. 25 -- The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), China's internet regulator, released a document today ordering website operators to bar users whose identities have not been verified from posting replies or comments on their sites and prohibits site employees from manipulating public opinion for personal gain.

Chinese websites will start real-name user registration from Oct. 1, per the circular.  

In view of the popularity of bullet screens among young netizens, the document urges websites to stiffen regulation of bullet screens, and prevent dissemination of illegal content via these services.

The policy rests on the country's first cybersecurity legislation, the Network Security Law, introduced in June. Earlier this month, the three largest social media platforms -- WeChat of Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HK:0700], Weibo of Sina Corp. [NASDAQ:SINA] and Tieba of Baidu Inc. [NASDAQ:BIDU] -- became the objects of the CAC's first investigations of suspected violations of law after violent, terrorist and obscene content and unsubstantiated rumors surfaced on these platforms. Such content may jeopardize national security and impair public safety and social order, the administration advised.