New rules that demand users of Weibo register under their real names before being allowed to post have sparked lots of controversy.

Once the announcement was issued, the share price of Sina, China's largest Weibo service, fell by 11 percent early Friday but rebounded later. It is unclear how the rules will affect the development of Weibo operators.

What's clear is that the numbers of those who post criticism online rampantly and unscrupulously will be fewer and legal cases will grow.

In the past, if you wanted to sue someone for libel on Weibo, you probably couldn't find the person in real life. However, once the real-name registration system is implemented, those posting on microblogs will be legally responsible for what they have said.

Major microblogging operators including Sina and Sohu expressed their confidence over the weekend in the further development of the services after the rules are implemented. However, the opinions of netizens toward the rules are entirely different.

There has been widespread outrage among users, who see this as snatching away a freedom they have become accustomed too.

Supporters say this is an opportunity to establish a high-quality public opinion environment for online expression, while opponents say freedom of expression on Weibo will be restrained and this is an obvious intrusion on people's right to privacy.

The argument that those opponents are making sound plausible, but barely stand a second thought.

Should freedom of expression be unlimited? Definitely not. People are born equal and one's freedom shouldn't intrude on the rights of another.

What the opponents of the real-name system want is unrestricted and irresponsible speech. They want to say what they can't in real life.

There are various examples of people who behave differently in real life and on Weibo. Those who remain silent in real life can be rumor-makers online.

In the anonymous cyber world, people needn't be what they are in real life and can let off their complains online. Once a rumor has been forwarded many times, a trusting public tends to believe it. Over the course of time, how can we expect people to tell truth from lies? How can Weibo be trusted by netizens?

Some people say the advantage of the Internet is that it encourages people to tell the truth under the condition of anonymity.

However, under the new rules, netizens can still post what they want to as long as they register with their real names. There's no contradiction between real-name registration and freedom of expression.

Apart from this, Weibo has never been a secret place for netizens. People would always post their private life or photos.

Even if you want to remain anonymous, people can still search you out, given the power of the Internet. Those who use their real names on Weibo often speak boldly and initiate open criticism about the government. Their reasonable and sensible criticisms are welcomed by netizens and they have millions of followers who hang on their every word. Their names give credibility to their claims.

All in all, people don't need to rage about the real-name registration system.

The public should be more concerned about how Weibo operators can protect their users' registration information from being misused rather than about whether they can enjoy freedom of expression.

Proper controls will need to be put in place to make sure that Weibo users' information isn't exploited for commercial or criminal uses. But as long as these safeguards exist, the new concerns shouldn't overly worry responsible netizens.

The author is a freelance writer in Shanghai. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

counterpoint: Anonymity essential for speaking truth to power