realnames
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Facebook clarifies what you're allowed to post on its social network
Facebook's content guidelines have sparked confusion, to put it mildly -- a lot of people are unsure as to whether or not they have to use their legal names, or whether it's safe to post breastfeeding photos. At last, though, the social network is clearing the air a bit. It just posted new Community Standards that don't change the company's stance, but should remove some of the gray areas. For one, it's emphasizing that you only have to use your "authentic identity," not the name your government recognizes -- important if you identify with a non-traditional gender. Facebook also clarifies that you can mention hate speech for the sake of social commentary, and refines its views on harassment, nudity and what happens to your account when you die. A few sections are completely new, such as one explicitly forbidding revenge porn and other forms of sexual exploitation.
China will require your real name for internet account sign-ups
The Chinese government has long been pushing people to use their real names online. However, it's now ready to make that an absolute requirement. Starting March 1st, residents will have to register internet accounts (including on blogs, chat services and social networks) using their real names. They won't have to display a real name, but they can't create a completely anonymous ID. It'll also be illegal to impersonate other people or organizations, and neither your avatar nor your nickname can include illegal content -- including something that "subverts state power" or promotes "rumormongering."
Xbox One's June update adds your friends' real names and external drive support
Here are some hard facts: regardless of how proud you are of that Xbox Live handle combining your love for Halo, the Deftones and Arrested Development without subbing in numbers for letters, it's probably hard for online pals to tell you apart from xXC0rtanaSl4ve69Xx. With the June Xbox One update, though, you'll have the option to add a real name to your profile, and thus, friend notifications. Not entirely cool with the rest of your Titanfall squad knowing your given name? No sweat: you can cherry pick who sees the name your parents gave you from who doesn't. And yes, you're right: this is something that the PlayStation 4 has offered since it launched last November. This patch finally allows using external drives for storage too, so long as they're USB 3.0 and are at least 256GB. The update also implements an auto sign-in feature, which should especially come in handy if you pick up a Kinect-less console next month. Previously, you'd either have to manually select a profile and sign in or let Kinect scan you and activate your account.
Three things you should know about the PlayStation 4 OS
Sony laid its social networking ambitions out on the table when it announced the use of real names on PSN, its online network, for the PlayStation 4. Now, as the company preps that next-gen console for launch this week, we're finally learning more about how those new PSN profiles will work and just what it is the PS4 Eye camera can actually do. And not everything works the way you would think.
You can use your real name on PlayStation 4 at launch, but aliases are OK too
Earlier this year at the PlayStation 4's coming out event, Mark Cerny, the system's lead architect, announced that gamers would be able to use real names on PlayStation Network. Today, Sony re-confirmed that news to Kotaku, stating that it will be available as an option at launch, although gamers can still opt to elect an alias. The move clearly highlights a different, more social direction for PSN, which up until now has just been a digital storefront. Apart from live video streaming capabilities, we don't have many more details about Sony's planned evolution for PSN, but we do know that, unlike Microsoft and its Xbox One, gamers won't have to wait to unmask themselves online. For its part, Microsoft does intend to let gamers use real names within its Friends app, but that option isn't set to go live until sometime after next month's Xbox One release.
Facebook bests German watchdog in court tiff over real names
After a German privacy watchdog ordered Facebook to allow the use of fake usernames "immediately," an appeals court has said nein. While the protection body in the tiny state of Schleswig-Holstein argued that Facebook's ban on pseudonyms breached the nation's privacy laws, an administrative court in the region ruled that those laws don't apply to the company, since its European HQ is located in less-stringent Ireland. Facebook argued that requiring the use of real names protects its users, but the regulator said it'll appeal the decision all the same -- thus prolonging the social network's long-running German headache.
German state of Schleswig-Holstein orders Facebook to allow pseudonyms
While some countries are insisting that web users hand over their real names, a German state has ordered Facebook to start letting people use fake handles online "immediately." The office of the Data Protection Commissioner in the state of Schleswig-Holstein said that Facebook's real name policy violates the German Telemedia Act and promised to fine the company $26,000 if it fails to allow pseudonyms within two weeks. The decree doesn't hold water in other German regions, but Schleswig-Holstein's commissioner said that colleagues elsewhere agree with the order, and that his state is being used a pilot to test the law. Facebook said it'll fight the order "vigorously," calling it "a waste of German taxpayer's money," and added that its policy already complies with European laws. We'll have to see whether this turns into yet another privacy tiff with the nation, or if it's just a lot of sturm & drang in a teapot.
China wants microbloggers to register with the government, hand over real identity
Thought that Facebook's and Google+'s requirements that you use your real name were draconian? Just be thankful you're not a weibo addict in China. The government is planning to expand a program that demands users register their real names and disclose their identity. Wang Chen, China's top internet regulation official, said the eventual goal would be to get all 250 million microbloggers registered, starting first with any new users signing up. The obvious privacy and free speech issues that could arise from such a move shouldn't need to be explained -- especially considering the country's track record of censorship and politically motivated arrests. Sadly, unlike SOPA, putting an end to this troubling law isn't as simple as putting up a black banner or emailing your congressman.
Game Center terms of service updated, real names shared on invitation
Apple has quietly tweaked the Game Center terms of service to add in the rule that whenever you first invite a friend to join your friends list in the gaming social network app, your real first and last names (as entered in your iTunes account) are shown to them. You still use a nickname as a full ID (and Game Center will still show your nickname when you log in to browse achievements or see what people are playing), but when you first "friend" someone, they get to see your real name. Apple has been able to get away with this one somehow -- the iTunes-based Ping social network also makes liberal use of the real name associated with an Apple account when adding friends, but for some reason nobody has made too much of a fuss about it. Consider Apple lucky -- when Blizzard Entertainment tried to require real names to be shared on their World of Warcraft forums, their community raised such a clamor that they had to back down and keep the forums anonymous. But Apple hasn't had that problem, either because the audiences are different, or just because people don't care so much about anonymity among their Game Center or Ping friends. We'll have to see how the community responds to a change like this.
